Senior Vice President and Provost position

Founded in 1856, the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland, is dedicated to serving its state, the nation, and the world. The University’s role is to educate future leaders to be engaged and thoughtful citizens in a complex, vibrant, and democratic society. It anticipates and prepares for the opportunities that will enhance the economic, social, and cultural vitality of the state and the nation.

The University’s more than 40,000 undergraduate and graduate students participate in more than 100 bachelor’s programs and 120 graduate programs within its 12 colleges and schools. Many of the University’s academic programs are highly ranked, with more than 90 in the top 25 and 20 in the top 10. Maryland’s academic strength spans virtually all major disciplines.

The University is widely known and respected for its academic stature and impact and is ranked among the top 20 public institutions in the country by U.S. News and World Report. More than 20 percent of the physical campus was built in the last 10 years. Faculty members are preeminent in virtually all fields of research and scholarship. Maryland is home to three Nobel laureates, seven Pulitzer Prize recipients, and more than 50 members of the national academies.

Competitively awarded research grants total more than $600 million and when UMD’s research enterprise is combined with those from the University of Maryland Baltimore, the combined research expenditures total $1.1B. This ranks the combined research enterprise as 8th among public institutions in the nation. Because of its strong record as top public research institution, UMD has been a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) since 1969, and on July 1, 2014, UMD joined the Big Ten Athletic Conference and the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA).

UMD’s location is an exceptional strength across all the University’s disciplines. It sits less than ten miles from Washington, D.C., and its departments, agencies, and research centers; embassies, think tanks, and nonprofit organizations; and the legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. Students and faculty have ready access to the people and organizations of the nation’s capital. UMD is the only university with a major science, technology, and engineering research capacity located within the Capital Beltway. The University is fortunate to be in close proximity to Baltimore, the state capitol of Annapolis, the Chesapeake Bay, the I-270 biotechnology corridor, numerous major corporations, international organizations, and an unmatched array of governmental research entities. UMD also maintains a strong presence at its Shady Grove campus, with a primary focus in health and biotechnology research through the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR); and has seeded a valuable presence at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland (USMSM) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Test Site, in close partnership with the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Systems Command (NAVAIR). The University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State (MPower) is a collaboration between the state of Maryland’s two most powerful public research engines: the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) — to strengthen and serve the state of Maryland and its citizens. Since its creation in 2012, MPower has fostered hundreds of collaborations from across both institutions that are growing Maryland’s innovation economy, advancing interdisciplinary research, increasing educational benefits, and addressing the state’s most critical issues.

By any measure, Maryland is one of the nation's preeminent public research universities and is committed to becoming one of the world's best. The institution seeks to capitalize on this momentum, promote its competitive advantages, and pursue ambitious goals with focus and entrepreneurial spirit.

The University seeks an ambitious Provost, experienced in the academy, knowledgeable in its operations and economics, and well versed in the current and emerging trends in American higher education. President Pines, along with a new Provost, will build on the past decade of strong success and help the University of Maryland fulfill the promise of its vision. UMD is poised to further strengthen its position as a prominent flagship land grant public research university. It has the right vision, unique advantages because of its location, compelling history, strategic partnerships, scale, loyalty, core resources, and breadth of programming that are essential. In the last decade Maryland succeeded well beyond expectations and is on an excellent trajectory. With the inspirational and visionary leadership of President Pines, the University has the chance to build upon its depth, to galvanize every constituency, to alter incentives, and truly work on the grand challenges facing society in the 21st Century including the pandemic, poverty, hunger, social injustice, and climate change. This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced and accomplished academic leader to build on the exceptional strengths and unique characteristics of UMD to effect positive, transformative change and to advance the University and its position in the national academic landscape.

The Provost will be a creative, focused, empathetic, and inclusive leader with a national and international vision, a collegial and consultative leadership style, and a deep commitment to student success and to creating an equitable and welcoming environment for students, staff, and faculty. Candidates should have a history of scholarly excellence, administrative leadership and accomplishment in a large and highly complex enterprise, and the ability to build and cultivate consensus within the university and beyond. While no single candidate will have all the ideal qualifications, the committee seeks candidates with the following qualifications and abilities:

• A terminal degree in a represented field and the scholarly achievement to attain the rank of tenured full professor in a unit at the university;
• An intellectual leader; a distinguished teacher, scholar, and academic visionary who can articulate the transformative potential of university research, education and service;
• A highly developed understanding of academic values and culture; an appreciation for scholarly work and a history of support for academic excellence, and the desire and ability to provide intellectual leadership on campus;
• A successful record as a strategic leader with an understanding of the full range of strategic issues in a complex organization; the ability to bring diverse constituencies together in the pursuit of shared, institution-wide goals; and the ability to build a strong, engaged, leadership team among the deans and other senior leaders;
• A demonstrated capacity to convert vision into action and an ability to define goals and tactics combined with specific measures to assess progress toward successful outcomes;
• A collegial, transparent and collaborative management style and the temperament to work closely with deans, vice presidents, senior leaders, and other colleagues allied to the ability to be a decisive leader;
• An open and consultative leader; an excellent collaborator who can support, partner with, and motivate faculty, staff, and students who have experienced significant challenges from the ongoing pandemic and enable them to return stronger and take the university to a greater level of success;
• A demonstrated track record of enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels, the ability to articulate its value with confidence and authority, and a deeply held belief in its power to transform education, scholarship, and service for the betterment of the university as well as the critical importance of diversity in solving society’s most pressing challenges;
• An experienced administrator with a track record of success in a large, complex unit, college/school, or similar environment; an astute understanding of finances and the relationship between academic priorities and budget;
• The dedication and the capacity to play an important role in the planning of the University’s next comprehensive fundraising campaign, with demonstrated success in securing external funding;
• Strong grounding in academic financial and budget management;
• An entrepreneurial flair and a willingness to take considered risks and seize opportunities;
• A demonstrated ability to recruit and retain outstanding and diverse faculty;
• A technologically adept communicator who can inspire and cultivate key external constituencies, attract partners, raise funds, generate enthusiasm, and obtain substantial commitments to further support the university;
• Integrity, honesty, energy and enthusiasm, and a sense of humor;
• An interest in being a visible member of university life and connected to civic life in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area, the state of Maryland, and on the national and international stage.
• Current employment at a University System of Maryland institution is required.

In addition, the next Senior Vice President and Provost will:

• Provide facilitative leadership, calling appropriate campus constituencies into participation in critical decision-making;
• Maintain in collaboration with deans, the University Senate, and other campus constituents focused attention on issues of academic quality;
• Supervise, support, and guide the deans in their work;
• Recruit deans in any colleges and schools in which the positions may not be filled with regular appointees;
• Supervise, guide, inspire and hold accountable the associate provosts, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean for Undergraduate Studies, associate vice president for enrollment management, associate vice president for finance, and others who are the Provost’s direct reports;
• Ensure the success of the University’s enrollment management program;
• Lead transformative initiatives that improve the student experience and achieves student success. This includes the optimal use of learning technology and the virtual learning environment, combined with the residential experience, to achieve positive academic outcomes;
• Ensure, in tandem with the Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, the growth of graduate student enrollment and expansion of target graduate programs, both residentially based and through distance learning and web-based education.;
• Assert the primacy of the University’s chief academic officer as a partner in the university budgeting and allocation process and work closely with the deans to assure transparent and strategic processes for allocating resources to colleges, schools, and academic support units;
• Work effectively with the Board of Trustees and the Board of Regents to support the mission of both Boards in the oversight roles they play in the fundraising, and administration and operation of the university;
• Support the President in his work with both internal and external constituencies, including federal, state, community, alumni, and donor relations, represent the President in his absence, and discharge the duties of the President in the President’s absence or incapacity.

Review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until an appointment is made.

For best consideration, please apply by March 18, 2021. All inquiries and nominations should be directed in confidence to

Dr. Jeff Hollingsworth, Chair
Professor and Vice President & CIO
Senior Vice President and Provost Search Committee
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Office of the President
1101 Main Administration Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
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Email: kctongga@umd.edu

Interested individuals should submit a confidential letter of interest, a curriculum vitae, and at least five references. All applications will be accepted electronically through the UMD’s eJobs website.

For more information about University of Maryland please visit www.umd.edu.

The University of Maryland, College Park, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, creed, marital status, political affiliation, personal appearance, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment, in all aspects of employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.