Vice President - Academic Affairs
Richard J. Daley College
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
Reporting to the College President, the Vice President – Academic Affairs (VPAA) serves as the college’s Chief Academic Officer, responsible for planning, developing, administering and providing management oversight of the college’s instructional programs (associate degree, skill/certificate, adult education, continuing education), the management and evaluation of instructional faculty, staff and administrators, and the evaluation of programs for quality, relevance, and compliance with academic and accreditation standards and practices.
As the Chief Academic Officer, the Vice President provides strategic leadership for a college’s instructional functions, working collaboratively with senior administrative staff to develop and implement innovative approaches to enhance academic excellence and provide students with innovative and effective learning experiences.
The Vice President- Academic Affairs also leads and coordinates initiatives in working with senior administrators and external stakeholders to build partnerships, education/career goal pathways, and internship opportunities to enhance and support learning experiences. Performs related duties as required.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES
- Provides overall strategic leadership for the college’s instructional functions with guidance from the President, with a focus on promoting excellence and equity across all instructional programs
- Provides leadership, supervision, support and guidance to the staff of all functional areas that report to the position. Plans, establishes priorities, assigns work, monitors progress and evaluates results of all academic programs at the college.
- Assists the President in planning, organizing, and directing the operations, staffing, and budgeting needs of the college.
- Partners with fellow college and district leaders in development and implementation of college plans to ensure continuous and measurable improvement in student life cycle benchmarks including enrollment, academic progression, persistence, retention, completion, and post-completion success.
- Supervises all aspects of academic personnel administration at the college. Develops, coordinates and/or implements staff and faculty development programs.
- Leads strategies, including but not limited to faculty professional development, for continuous improvement in course success rates.
- Responsible for execution of critical academic processes with integrity and strict adherence to procedures, including but not limited to Tenure Assistance Program (TAP), renewal and non-renewal of full-time non-tenured faculty, post-tenure evaluation, and sabbatical approvals.
- Directs the production of the college’s annual class schedule, ensuring alignment with districtwide standards for a strategic year-long schedule.
- Oversees a hiring plan to ensure sufficient coverage of courses by both full-time and adjunct faculty. Responsible for onboarding new full-time and adjunct faculty hires.
- Conducts performance evaluations and establishes professional development programs and succession planning for direct reports including college deans, program administrators and non-academic staff.
- Oversees academic quality assurance processes, including labor market analysis, learning outcomes assessment, program review, and curriculum development, to ensure quality and relevance of academic programs.
- Identifies opportunities to expand and strengthen the college’s priority academic programs and leads strategic initiatives to support their growth.
- Serves as primary relationship manager with the college’s local faculty council on all matters related to academics.
- Collaborates across college and district strategy and Institutional Research teams to establish and implement a culture in which continuous quality improvement and planning activities are integrated, understood, and practiced in a manner consistent with the college’s mission, values and vision.
- Proactively researches and integrates national best practices for community college and higher education to ensure continuous improvement. Recommends policy and procedure updates for review/inclusion in college and district policy/procedure manuals.
- Oversees academic affairs-related grant opportunities in collaboration with college and district grants teams, supporting completion of new grant applications, grant implementation, and maintenance of grants’ audit and compliance review requirement.
- Actively contributes to and participates in college and district governance and strategic planning.
- Cultivates an organizational culture of ethical behavior, positivity, professionalism, employee empowerment, satisfaction, and productivity.
- Supports fellow Vice Presidents within the college and across colleges by sharing approaches to strategic leadership.
- May serve as chief administrator of the college in the absence of the President.
- Performs related duties as required.
REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
Reports To College President
Direct Supervision Deans; College administrators; Clerical Support Staff
Indirect Supervision FT Faculty; Adjunct Faculty; Technical Staff
QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree from an accredited college or university. An earned Doctorate degree from an accredited institution is preferred.
- Minimum of five years of administrative experience, preferably in a community college setting, with experience in program development, strategic planning, operational oversight, and fiscal management.
- At least five years of teaching experience in a unionized, higher education setting preferred
- Knowledge and understanding of academic planning, program development, evaluation, and budgeting
- Knowledge of higher education accreditation procedures, articulation process, assessment and program review
- Knowledge of CCC policies and procedures; collective bargaining agreements; and employee/faculty/student handbooks
- Knowledge of program evaluation and student learning assessment methods
- Knowledge of local /regional workforce needs and economic development issues
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data to inform decision-making and drive progress in curriculum development, program evaluation and assessment, and enrollment management
- Strong management skills, with experience in budget and resource development, grant funding, and partnership building
- Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
- Demonstrated leadership and initiative, with the ability to guide teams, take ownership of complex responsibilities, and lead organizational change
- Creative and innovative thinking skills, with the ability to generate new ideas and implement effective solutions to institutional challenges
- Adaptable and flexible in a dynamic work environment, with the ability to manage and embrace organizational change
- Strong judgment and decision-making skills, including the ability to evaluate options and determine effective courses of action based on cost-benefit analysis and institutional priorities.
- Technological proficiency, with a strong understanding of how to integrate and leverage technology to enhance academic operations and support institutional effectiveness.
- Ability to work within a culturally diverse environment, with a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.
- Ability to establish effective and cooperative working relationships
- Demonstrated ability to develop a strategic vision and launch new initiatives.
- Demonstrated ability to work with a high degree of professionalism
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)
Salary Range: $150,000
Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as other factors such as internal equity.
Benefits information is found at https://www.ccc.edu/departments/Benefits/
Chicago residency is required for all full-time employees within 6 months of hire.
Approved by Compensation Design & Strategy Date: May 8, 2025
The intent of this job description is to provide a general description of the duties and responsibilities of this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive set of the duties and responsibilities, nor all of the necessary qualifications to perform the work.
Original Title created July 2001. Revised June 2011. Revised May 2025 to be based on R470 VP-Academic & Student Affairs job description.
Additional Information
- Salary Range: Salary Range $150,000
