Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
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Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Position Description Molloy College seeks a strategic, collaborative, innovative, and responsive leader to serve as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Provost and VPAA will have the opportunity to lead and empower a community of strong faculty and staff, and to develop transformative program experiences for a talented and growing student body of undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students. Reporting directly to President James Lentini, who is in his first year at Molloy, the Provost and VPAA will be the first among equals on his talented and collegial senior team. The Provost and VPAA will find Molloy to be committed to its value-centered, multidimensional education that is grounded in the Dominican tradition of the College, ideals of truth and respect for the dignity and worth of every individual, and to full engagement of the campus with the community, which begins with its location in Rockville Centre, Long Island – under an hour from New York City – and extends outward to encompass the country and world. About the College Molloy College, an independent, Catholic college located in Long Island, has more than 60 quality academic undergraduate and graduate degree programs that includes three doctoral programs. Founded in 1955 by the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, the College provides over 5,000 students (3,510 undergraduate, 1,465 graduate, and 140 doctoral) with a variety of competitive academic programs including liberal arts and sciences, business, education and social work, mental health counseling, nursing, allied health and communication sciences and disorders. Combining the strengths of academic excellence and leadership with personal, compassionate mentoring, Molloy brings out the best in every student. Molloy is one of the most affordable private colleges in the region and was recently named by the Wall Street Journal as the #18 ranked “Value-Added” college in the nation – a testament to its tremendous academic programs. In 2020, The Princeton Review listed Molloy as one of the best colleges in the Northeast. These and many other national rankings speak to Molloy’s commitment to blend career success with altruistic and generative attitude. To review Molloy’s recent accolades, please visit: https://www.molloy.edu/about-molloy-college/recent-accolades. Molloy College, Provost and VPAA Page 2 The College is deeply rooted in the Four Pillars of Dominican Life: study, spirituality, service, and community, which encompass all elements of life at Molloy. The College is committed to academic excellence with respect for all people, and through transformative education, promotes the development of ethical leadership and the pursuit of truth. Molloy has built a community-focused education where individuals are valued and feel part of a supportive environment. Mission Molloy College, an independent, Catholic college rooted in the Dominican tradition of study, spirituality, service and community, is committed to academic excellence with respect for each person. Through transformative education, Molloy promotes a lifelong search for truth and the development of ethical leadership. Mission in Action Through the Office of Mission and Ministry, Molloy College supports mission through a variety of programs and initiatives. Campus Ministries is rooted in the College’s Dominican Charism and the Four Pillars. With a foundation of Catholic identity, Campus Ministries brings together students and employees in the common search for Truth in an accepting, welcoming, and inclusive environment, and offers people the chance to live out their own individual faiths and grow spiritually while at Molloy College. They sponsor retreats, interfaith prayer services, and service experiences both locally and globally. Catholic mass is offered during the semester, weekdays, and Sunday evenings, with special masses throughout the year. Additionally, the College sponsors multiple service trips not only to live out the mission, but to enable students to gain hands-on experience in their fields of study. Molloy is an active member of the Dominican Higher Education Council (DHEC) and holds membership in the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU). Recently Molloy was accepted as a Lilly Network institution. The new Provost and VPAA will have the opportunity of engaging the faculty in a robust conversation about how this College’s founding mission is driven through the curriculum, and by extension, through the lives of our students and graduates. Opportunities and Priorities With the appointment of President James Lentini which began in 2020, the position of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs is being updated from its prior title of Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty. This meets the new President’s intention to recraft the Provost and VPAA as the clear Chief Academic Officer and leader of the faculty and academic initiatives at Molloy College. The update also addresses the formation of Schools in 2018 and the creation of new dean positions in those units, making the Provost and VPAA title more appropriate. The new Provost and VPAA will have the opportunity to provide input to and work on priorities that have been identified as immediate by the President, including developing a Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, Academic Program Development, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. These will be collaborative efforts with administration, faculty, and staff at Molloy and will call on the leadership of the Provost and Molloy College, Provost and VPAA Page 3 VPAA to ensure that academic innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit allow Molloy to develop academic programs and plans that will be successful in addressing the changing needs of students on Long Island and in Metropolitan New York. The new VPAA will have the opportunity to collaborate with an extensive platform of community partnerships that can provide a platform for academic program growth. The Provost and VPAA will be highly knowledgeable and skilled at developing and overseeing multi-modal course delivery models, building on Molloy’s strength with in-person instruction. Plans are afoot to increase online and hybrid courses and programs, including microcredentials (certificates and badges). The Provost and VPAA will also lead efforts to allow Molloy to meet the needs of adult learners seeking degree completion and to address workforce development opportunities. To be successful, the Provost and VPAA will be adept with current trends in higher education and with the latest technology and methodologies available to be a leader in a highly competitive market. Strategic Planning and Accreditation Molloy College’s current strategic plan (2016-2021) focuses on the following five themes: 1. Responsive Education 2. Student Success 3. Regional Reputation 4. Strategic Enrollment 5. Organizational Effectiveness For more information, please visit: https://www.molloy.edu/documents/Strategic_Plan_Book_2019.pdf The strategic plan will be extended and updated once the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan is completed, which will serve as a part of the foundation for an updated College strategic plan. The Provost and VPAA will be a key leader helping to shape the new strategic plan. In addition, the Provost and VPAA will lead Molloy’s Middle States re-accreditation and accompanying self-study process. The next site visit takes place in Spring 2023 and planning is well underway. Academics Molloy College offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, as well as continuing education, professional development, and newly approved micro-credential options. Program delivery is offered in a traditional classroom setting, as well as in online and blended formats. The Honors Program (open to all majors), global learning, and experiential learning are all opportunities available to students. Additionally, the School of Business offers its own Honors Program. The Academic Division of Molloy College is overseen by the Provost and VPAA. In 2018, the College has completed the process of reorganizing from a division model into four schools: The School of Business, School of Education and Human Services, School of Arts & Sciences, and the Barbara H. Hagan School of Nursing and Health Sciences. The Academic Division also includes the Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies, the Library, and the office of Research and Scholarship, which oversees the Faculty Professional Center and the Office of Blended and Online Learning. This larger academic restructuring supports Molloy College in its long-term goal of gaining university status. Molloy College, Provost and VPAA Page 4 Molloy College is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education with the next evaluation in 2022-2023. For more information on the accredited programs, please visit: https://www.molloy.edu/about-molloy-college/accreditations. The School of Arts and Sciences The School of Arts and Sciences combines three former divisions, the humanities and performing arts, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. The School enrolls approximately 950 students majoring and minoring in two dozen undergraduate and two graduate academic degrees and programs. The School serves all undergraduate students through the General Education program. Each semester, the School offers close to 60% of all undergraduate credit hours at the College. The Master’s program in Music Therapy includes the nationally