OPPORTUNITY PROFILE PRESIDENT

Transcription

1 OPPORTUNITY PROFILE PRESIDENT

2 VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT CONTENTS THE ORGANIZATION VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY 1 THE LOCATION NANAIMO, BC 3 THE POSITION PRESIDENT 4 Challenges and Opportunities for the new President 5 Key Responsibilities 6 THE PERSON 12 Candidate Qualifications 12 Qualities Desirable in a President 14 Competencies and Personal Characteristics 17 COMPENSATION 18 CONTACT 18

3 THE ORGANIZATION VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY Known as a centre of excellence for teaching and scholarship, including applied research and learning, Vancouver Island University (VIU) is renowned for producing quality graduates in high demand by employers across the country and around the world. With roots that date back to 1936 when Nanaimo s first vocational training school opened its doors, VIU shares a rich history and connection with its communities. It is this history and commitment to people that has provided VIU with a solid foundation on which it continues to grow. In 2008, Malaspina University-College became a university under an amendment of the University Act and officially began operation as Vancouver Island University on September 1, The main campus of VIU is located in Nanaimo, with campuses in Cowichan Valley and Powell River and a site in Parksville. VIU has evolved into a dynamic, internationally-known university supporting a student population in excess of 16,000 full- and part-time learners (including over 2,100 international students and over 1,500 Aboriginal students), and employing over 2,000 faculty and staff. VIU proudly fosters student success, strong community connections, international collaborations, and provides access to a wide range of programs academic, applied, career/technical, vocational, and developmental designed for regional, national, and international students. 1 Page

4 Vancouver Island University has developed the following Purpose and Visionary Goal for the organization, as articulated in the University s Academic Plan: Purpose As a leader in providing high-quality learning, Vancouver Island University supports the well-being of the people of Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia by promoting a high quality of life for their communities through commitment to student success, community engagement, and associated scholarship. Visionary Goal As a trusted educational partner in the search for sustainable cultural, economic, environmental, and social well-being, we inspire our students, faculty and staff, our communities, and the people of Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia through our commitment to excellence in learning, student success, respectful discourse, and Indigenous ways of knowing and personal well-being. To learn more, please visit VIU s website. 2 Page

5 THE LOCATION NANAIMO, BC Nanaimo is a city of approximately 90,000 residents, located on Vancouver Island a tourist destination blessed with the natural beauty of mountains, forests and seashore, a mild climate, and many opportunities for yearround outdoor sport and recreation. Nanaimo is close to the major metropolitan areas of Vancouver and Victoria, providing the best of all worlds to its residents. Mid-Vancouver Island is an excellent place to live, work, and do business. The region enjoys the friendliest climate in Canada, is surrounded by some of the most beautiful wilderness in the world, and is one of the fastest growing regions in British Columbia. The combination of a clean, appealing environment, a high-quality lifestyle, a talented workforce, and responsive public services attracts diverse, value-added industries that provide the stability associated with well-paying jobs. In the process, revenues are generated for a quality infrastructure network and many cultural and recreational amenities. Situated on beautiful Vancouver Island, with spectacular views of British Columbia s coastal mountains, VIU offers a large variety of regionally responsive university-degree and college programs. VIU is currently seeking a collaborative and collegial President to lead the institution through a very important stage in its evolution. 3 Page

6 THE POSITION PRESIDENT The successful candidate will serve the purpose of the institution and work towards its vision and goals, supported by a strong and experienced team of administrators that are shaped and informed by the commitments of highly engaged students, faculty, and staff. The new President will also assist in advancing VIU as a teaching and learning centre; developing pathways for new areas of applied research; encouraging entrepreneurial approaches to supporting public education; continuing to forge close relationships in the region and beyond with donors, alumni, and corporate partners; and supporting and promoting the institution at the provincial, national, and international levels, working with governments and other post-secondary partners. As chief executive officer, the President directs and oversees VIU s academic and business affairs and external relations provincially, nationally, and internationally. VIU seeks a President who will: Create, through all of his/her dealings, an atmosphere of academic excellence that furthers the reputation of VIU for providing excellent instruction, for creating research opportunities for undergraduate students, and for community service; Build and provide leadership to a senior executive team that will successfully address the issues and opportunities facing VIU at this point in its development; Represent and promote, through his/her personal reputation and stature, VIU s achievements in order to gain support for its many endeavours; As VIU s chief representative and spokesperson, model the spirit, values, and integrity of the institution as s/he champions its vision, aspirations, and initiatives regionally, provincially, nationally and internationally; Report to the Board of Governors on VIU s performance against the measures laid out in its internal planning documentation, as well as by the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training and the Industry Training Authority. 4 Page

7 Challenges and Opportunities for the New President Vancouver Island University faces the challenges of funding constraints and human resources pressures every day. The workload of faculty in teaching and service must be addressed, especially in light of the desire for more balanced subject offerings and program development. Another opportunity is to increase VIU s capacity and attractiveness to prospective students (particularly domestic students) through recruitment, retention, and service initiatives. The President of VIU will also play a special leadership and advocacy role within the dynamic social fabric of mid-vancouver Island. The President will devote particular attention to the celebration of VIU s successes to date, and will foster excitement and enthusiasm about its future potential. Furthermore, serving as a key proponent of VIU s mandate to increase leadership for Aboriginal education and reconciliation, the President will continue to build and maintain positive reciprocal relationships with First Nations communities and create a welcoming, supportive, and culturally relevant environment for Indigenous students.

8 Key Responsibilities Education Division Leadership and Management Provide leadership for an institutional focus on teaching, learning, and student success, demonstrated through the successful achievement of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (AEST) annual outcomes identified in the Institutional Accountability Plan; Celebrate student achievement and success across the institution and in the community; Through University Relations and the VIU Foundation, continue the focused capital campaign to raise funds in support of the first phase of the Health and Science Centre, the Trades facilities, the District Geo-Exchange Energy System project, as well as other institutional initiatives that enhance the learning environment for students, engage the community, and promote student success; Continue building increased student participation in fundraising across various initiatives; Actively seek financial contributions to support student transition to post-secondary education (PSE), success in PSE, and transition to work; Foster a partnership with Federal Government and philanthropic groups to increase the number of coalitions in BC and across Canada; Support the enhancement of work-integrated learning (experiential learning) for VIU students and the co-curricular record; Recruit and retain faculty and staff who will strive to ensure that VIU continues to deliver high quality learning environments for students; 6 Page

9 Support the development of a marketing and communications division to address the critical challenge of increasing student numbers (particularly domestic students) through recruitment and retention activities; Support the comprehensive Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity Plan for VIU; Support continued investment in the Aboriginal Education Plan and continue to encourage new initiatives to support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report; and Support continued evolution of the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) to provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to enhance the learning environments for students and enhance learning through professional development for all members of the University community. Enhance the University Community Support enhanced communications and other strategies to foster an environment of positive employee relations; focus on VIU as a valuesbased university and provide leadership through education for social change; Celebrate faculty/staff achievement and success; Support senior management and the President s Council to actively engage in dialogue within areas of responsibility on institutional issues; Build strong and supportive relationships with all employee groups; Engage regularly with Students Union leadership to encourage ongoing dialogue and collective efforts to address student-related concerns; Support the ongoing efforts to build institutional culture and establish appropriate approaches to measure institutional culture; 7 Page

10 Support the initiation of the VIU People Strategy, the new Human Resources Integrated Plan; Build, measure, and highlight VIU as a sustainable university with a focus on social change; Increase the engagement of faculty and staff in institutional philanthropic activity in support of capital projects, student access/excellence, and faculty scholarship/research; Support the Advancement and Alumni Office to increase outcomes from the Alumni Engagement Plan by enhancing the number of alumni contacts and increasing the number of active alumni contributors; Support the planning for VIU Athletics to initiate transition to Canadian Intercollegiate Sport (CIS) competition and, further, to plan new teaching facilities in physical activity, recreation, and sport to support academic curriculum and the wellness program across the campus community; and Through the initiation of the new Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity Plan, support the enhancement of the quality, quantity, and funding for scholarship, research, and creative activity at VIU. Indigenous Commitment Listen to communities, building on the strength of Indigenous community partnerships, providing guidance to VIU in ensuring a supportive learning environment for Indigenous students; Enhance VIU learning environment by including Indigenous traditional knowledge across the curriculum and within the institutional culture; Celebrate the partnerships with the community and continue to build a welcoming environment for all Indigenous students at VIU; Advocate for funding to enhance access to PSE for Indigenous students through new initiatives of the new Provincial Government; Advocate for support to enhance access to PSE for Indigenous students through a broad scope of initiatives with the Federal Government; Collaborate with AEST to build new pathways and delivery mechanisms for Indigenous communities who have limited access to PSE programming within their region; Continue to enhance the support for initiatives to support the recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report; 8 Page

11 Build international collaborations with Indigenous universities and communities to enhance the understanding of Indigenous issues globally; Enhance the activity and engagement of VIU in Indigenous education across the region and across Canada, especially with philanthropic organizations and not-for-profit agencies; Support the exploration of the potential creation of a Faculty of Indigenous Education; Build relationships/projects with business and industry to foster support for access, success, and transition to work for Indigenous students; Partner with regional Indigenous communities and support repatriation of cultural works which have been removed from the communities, and align this activity with Provincial Government s initiative on repatriation; Support Indigenous and industry community partnerships focused on Impact Benefit Agreements that provide relevant education for community members to achieve capacity for engagement and success in the partnership; and Attract and retain Indigenous faculty and staff. Build Institutional Quality Work with AVED to better understand the new government s focus and direction on PSE in BC; Continue to instill cross-institutional responsibility to focus personnel decisions on attracting and retaining the highest quality faculty and staff available that will build institutional reputation as an excellent university learning environment; Support evolution of the institutional dashboard of key measures of institutional quality and success for annual discussion at the Board of Governors retreat; Build institutional quality through implementation of the new and enhanced components of the VIU Integrated Plan; Continue building recognition of institutional quality in the region through promoting VIU s strengths in teaching, research, and community engagement and the delivery of high quality graduates from all credential programs; Support teaching, learning, and administrative system renewal (Project AURORA); continue to invest in institutional IT systems remediation to build the institutional capacity and capabilities that VIU requires to evolve; 9 Page

12 Understand the new government s focus on capital investment and continue to articulate the need for renewing facilities to provide quality learning environments for students and faculty; Enhance VIU s reputation for quality scholarship, research, and creative activity by supporting faculty applications for external funding of scholarship and research, and increase the number of highly-qualified students funded through externally-funded national granting agency awards for student scholarship, research, and creative activity engagement; communicate the success of scholarship, research, and creative endeavors; Build institutional capacity to foster social innovation investment and, in particular, social impact bond initiatives for education programs that are fostering social change; Engage and attract social impact investors to support the change that can be realized through facilitating access to and success through education achievement for impoverished populations; Build, measure and highlight VIU as a sustainable university. Foster External Community Involvement Actively invest in strategies to enhance partnerships with First Nations and other Indigenous communities, and relationships that will support the growth of international education at VIU; Explore productive partnerships and mutuallybeneficial collaborations with external groups; Support the establishment of an independent University Initiatives Trust that will generate business opportunities to support university activity; Enhance philanthropy by engaging regionally, nationally, and internationally in stewardship, relationship building, and promoting VIU as an excellent investment; Actively engage in leadership in post-secondary education activities and initiatives provincially, nationally, and internationally; Through a new Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity Plan, support an increase in the breadth, scope, and funding for scholarship and research from external community partnerships; 10 Page

13 Enhance relationships with all levels of government and, in particular, with the new Provincial Government in its increased public policy focus on the delivery of post-secondary educated, skilled employees for the 21 st century; Establish new partnership opportunities with post-secondary education institutions that may be mutually beneficial, with a particular focus on regional universities and their contributions to nation-building; and Foster the recruitment, training, and retention of high quality volunteers to serve on various associated boards (VIU Foundation, Milner Gardens and Woodlands, The High School at VIU, VIU Elder College, Faculty Advisory Boards, etc.). Increase Institutional Effectiveness Support the preparation of a comprehensive budget and integrated budget-planning process that fosters an institutional culture of engagement, transparency, and accountability across VIU to build a balanced budget; Promote engagement in and understanding of the governance and administrative structures; implement best practices in institutional governance. Support the continued development of an efficient policy and procedure framework; Review the structure of responsibilities of the senior administrative team to ensure strong leadership in all functional areas; Identify/establish increased off-grant revenue streams to support VIU and increase incomegenerating initiatives; Support education and development for all members of the University Board of Governors and Senate; and Enhance support and strategic alignment of the regional campus developments (Deep Bay Marine Field Station, Milner Gardens and Woodlands, the VIU High School, and other institutional assets). 11 Page

14 THE PERSON Candidate Qualifications The successful candidate will bring a record of distinguished and inspired academic and administrative leadership, an awareness of the challenges facing post-secondary institutions, and the business, administrative, and communication skills required to advance VIU s institutional goals. The Board of Governors believes that outstanding skills in leadership, planning, administration and human relations, community relations, and resource development will be critical to the President s success. Although it recognizes that no one individual is likely to possess all the following qualities in equal measure, the Presidential Search Advisory Committee has developed the following set of criteria related to the desired background, experience, and personal qualities deemed important in candidates for the position: A record of accomplishment as a scholar and teacher; Intellectual depth and an understanding of the academy, particularly within the British Columbian and Canadian contexts, and a passionate commitment to what post-secondary institutions in general and VIU in particular, with its broad range of programs can contribute to society; An understanding of the issues and challenges that will face public higher education institutions in the coming years; A public persona that is articulate, polished, passionate, and highly visible, with the ability to motivate and inspire the entire VIU community and to champion its unique position and outstanding opportunities regionally, provincially, nationally, and internationally; A strong commitment to student success and satisfaction; 12 Page

15 Extensive administrative experience and effective academic leadership, undertaken within a complex administrative and financial environment; Demonstrated respect for collegiality; a record of championing the values and integrity of an institution of higher education; A flexible and consultative management style, along with outstanding interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to bring people together to develop and work toward shared goals; Demonstrated entrepreneurial leadership skills, including the ability to deal creatively with complex issues and to balance the competing demands of various constituencies; Planning experience at a senior level involving the setting of strategic direction, priority development, resource allocation, and transition and change; The ability to lead in the development of effective relationships with the business community and nonprofit organizations; A record of successful advocacy in developing strong government relations, especially in light of VIU s aspirations for its future; A proven track record of successful fundraising, and the ability to develop an ongoing fundraising capacity to support new levels of excellence within VIU; The ability to recruit, motivate, empower, and retain outstanding faculty and staff, combined with a strong commitment to diversity and professional development; and A reputation for integrity and openness, and an ability to engender trust in interpersonal relationships. 13 Page

16 Qualities Desirable in a President Leadership Demonstrated leadership abilities in a post-secondary environment; Demonstrated understanding of, respect from, and credibility within the post-secondary education community; Demonstrated commitment to the principles of academic freedom, collegiality, employment equity, and inclusivity; Demonstrated experience in dealing with a wide variety of program offerings, i.e., academic, vocational, technical, career, continuing education, and international education; Demonstrated awareness of new and evolving educational technologies; Demonstrated strong and creative leadership and vision that unifies the diverse constituencies of a university to face difficult issues; Demonstrated respect for, and understanding of, VIU s significance, history, and achievements; Demonstrated record of scholarly activity; Demonstrated exceptional communication, public speaking, and public relations skills; Demonstrated evidence of possessing a unique combination of humility and determination necessary to make him or her an effective leader; Demonstrated evidence of experience in understanding the financial responsibilities of a complex, multifaceted institution; and Demonstrated political acumen. 14 Page

17 Planning Demonstrated experience and ability to prepare long-term plans to meet the future markets that the University serves, and execute after Board approval; Demonstrated experience in directing a planning process that leads to clear, attainable goals; Demonstrated ability to articulate effectively and persuasively the intellectual mission of the University, both within and outside; and Demonstrated ability to maintain a focus on the achievement of vision and goals; able to maintain course in the face of resistance. Administration/Human Relations Demonstrated outstanding interpersonal skills and evidence of the ability to work effectively with Board, administrators, faculty, staff, students, community, business and industry leaders, local, provincial and federal governments, and international contacts; Demonstrated team building skills in working within a bicameral shared governance system; Demonstrated experience in labour relations and a willingness to work with the collective bargaining units and other employee groups; Demonstrated ability to be highly effective at relating to staff, educators and the community; Demonstrated ability to effectively interface with various levels within the institutions and with a broad range of external stakeholders; and Demonstrated evidence of emotional intelligence. 15 Page

18 Community Relations Demonstrated sensitivity to and interest in Indigenous issues; A track record of strong student orientation and willingness to work directly with students; Demonstrated record of community involvement/work; and Politically astute and demonstrated ability to work with others for the benefit of the University. Resource Development Demonstrated understanding of, and skills in, revenue generation and cost control, and a preparedness to engage in fundraising activities; and Demonstrated evidence as an entrepreneurial thinker and developer of business and other partnerships. 16 Page

19 Competencies and Personal Characteristics Leadership Achieves desired organizational results by encouraging and supporting the contribution of others; a proactive and positive team player who acts with a sense of urgency and leads by example; sets and communicates clear goals. Communication Clearly presents written and verbal information; writes with clarity and purpose; communicates effectively in both positive and negative circumstances; listens well. Accountable Holds self and others accountable for responsibilities; focuses on results and measuring the attainment of outcomes in a business focus. Strategic Develops and implements a plan in support of organizational strategic directions and academic planning. Demonstrates an understanding of the link between Decanal responsibilities and overall University goals and needs, and performs with the broader goals in mind. Creativity and Innovation Develops new insights into situations; questions conventional approaches; encourages new ideas and innovations; designs and implements new or cutting edge programs/processes. Effectiveness in Working Relationships Treats employees, colleagues, students, and others with respect; resolves conflicts respectfully and in a timely manner, negotiates effectively, and provides effective feedback to colleagues/employees. Integrity and Honesty Demonstrates a resolute commitment to and respect for the spirit and intent behind the rules and core values of the organization, setting an example of professionalism and ethical propriety. Faculty and Student Focused Anticipates, responds, and attends to the needs of faculty, students, and other internal and external stakeholders of the department and organization. 17 Page

20 COMPENSATION A competitive compensation package will be provided including an attractive base salary and excellent benefits. Further details will be discussed further in a personal interview. FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Robin Noftall or Greg Longster DAVIES PARK EXECUTIVE SEARCH # Granville Street Vancouver, BC V7Y 1G5 Phone: (604) vancouver@daviespark.com Additional information can be found at