FLSA Status:
United States of America (Exempt)
Compensation:
$240,000 - $280,000.
Commensurate with education and experience. Excellent health and retirement benefits package:
SECTION I - OUR VALUES CULTIVATE OUR VISION AND CULTURE
At CMU, we believe in acting from a foundation of goodwill. This belief gives us the courage to form meaningful relationships, embark on joint endeavors and take risks in the pursuit of new possibilities. It’s this courage that enables the Mavily to explore new ways of thinking and doing, knowing that there is no perfect solution, no perfect idea.
From this place of humility and courage, we’ve built a culture of resilience. We invest in the future by continuously adapting to change, overcoming challenges, and seizing new opportunities. We recognize that change is constant, and our resilience allows us to embrace it with confidence. Endless curiosity drives us to approach the unexpected as if it were expected, seeing opportunities for discovery and renewal in every challenge. In this community rooted in love and dignity, curiosity thrives, leading to endless opportunities for growth and advancement.
Inspired by the soul of the West—the spirit that our region embodies—we emerge as a force for positive change, harnessing our collective power to build a Human Scale University that reflects our values and brings to life our shared vision of the world we aspire to create.
Colorado Mesa University Core Values
Love - Extending oneself for nurturing the growth of self and others
Dignity - Respecting the intrinsic value of each person and believing that others act from a foundation of goodwill
Courage - Taking risks in the pursuit of new possibilities
Humility - Suspending one’s ego and pride to recognize that no idea is perfect and being open to the input of others
Resiliency - Investing in the future by adapting to changes, overcoming challenges and pursuing Opportunity
Curiosity - Cultivating awe and exploring the unknown
Power - The strength to act collaboratively with individual agency to achieve our goals
SECTION II – THE SEAT
At CMU, we look at every position as a seat. Every seat is vital and the individual in the seat contributes significantly to our mission of providing an affordable and accessible education and forming meaningful and mutually enriching partnerships that support the well-being and vibrancy of our community. As a human centric organization, a priority is to ensure we have the “right seats” in our organization, and that the expectations, ownership and accountabilities are defined and communicated clearly for the success of the individuals holding the seats.
The Provost & Chief Academic Officer serves as the University’s chief academic leader and is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, evaluation, and continuous improvement of the academic enterprise. Reporting directly to the President and serving as a key member of the University leadership team, the leader in this position provides strategic vision, leadership, and oversight for instructional programs, academic outreach activities, academic support services, and institutional academic planning efforts. This role includes responsibility for academic programs and services across CMU’s main campus, CMU Montrose, CMU Tech, online offerings, and the academic and administrative units that support teaching, learning, scholarship, student success, and institutional effectiveness including Office of Sponsored Programs, Tomlinson Library, Registrar and Institutional Research & Decision Support.
OVERVIEW AND ROLE SCOPE OF TEAM AND/OR TASKS
The Provost & Chief Academic Officer will:
- Act as the primary advisor to the President on matters related to academic affairs and academic support services.
- Provide strategic leadership for the University’s academic programs, curriculum development, assessment, accreditation, instructional delivery, and academic planning efforts.
- Foster a culture of academic excellence, innovation, student-centered learning, faculty development, and continuous improvement.
- Support and guide academic department heads and academic leaders in matters related to faculty recruitment, evaluation, promotion, tenure, retention, professional development, and succession planning. In consultation with the President, the Provost establishes and approves salaries for existing and new faculty members.
- Coordinate resources, personnel, and operations across academic departments and academic support offices to achieve the academic mission of the University.
- Collaborate closely with the President and University leadership to align academic priorities with institutional planning, enrollment management, budgeting, student success initiatives, and fiscal sustainability efforts.
- Work closely with the Faculty Senate and Faculty Senate Executive Committee to establish priorities and address concerns.
- Foster a culture of shared governance and transparency, ensuring faculty input on budgetary matters, academic policies, and strategic planning.
- Oversee academic operations, including instructional planning, scheduling, academic outreach activities, and the publication and delivery of instructional schedules and programs.
- Support and maintain productive partnerships with the Board of Trustees, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Higher Learning Commission, and other governing and accrediting organizations.
- Work collaboratively with the Senior Vice President for Student Services, the Chief Financial Officer, and other University leaders to strengthen academic and student support functions, including recruitment, admission, advising, transfer, financial aid, and registrar services.
- Provide leadership and oversight for library services, academic support services, and instructional technologies to ensure alignment with the instructional goals and student success mission of the University.
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight for CMU Tech, in partnership with the Vice President of Technical Education & Workforce Development, to align technical education and workforce programs with regional employer needs, academic pathways, student success initiatives, and institutional priorities, while operating within the guidelines established by governing and accrediting agencies.
- Plan and oversee budgetary aspects of the academic division while monitoring expenditures and ensuring fiscal accountability and responsible stewardship of resources.
- Lead with transparency, humility, professionalism, collaboration, and accountability while fostering strong relationships across the University and broader community.
- Support a culture of data-informed decision-making by helping prioritize institutional data needs, ensuring effective use of Institutional Research capacity, and utilizing evidence to guide recommendations, planning, and institutional improvement efforts.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
DISCLAIMER - This position description is only a summary of the typical functions of this seat, and not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and areas of accountability.
CMU seeks a leader who:
- Demonstrates a strong commitment to student success, academic excellence, and faculty support.
- Actively advocates for faculty and fosters an environment of trust, respect, and shared responsibility across academic and administrative units.
- Builds strong partnerships between academic and administrative departments, recognizing their distinct roles, shared service to the broader campus community, and collective contribution to the University’s mission.
- Has proven success building trust-based collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, students, community partners, and external stakeholders.
- Leads with integrity, humility, and professionalism, communicates transparently and directly, and demonstrates a growth-oriented leadership style that builds trust and shared accountability.
- Understands and actively supports shared governance, faculty engagement, and collaborative leadership as essential to institutional effectiveness.
- Possesses strong strategic planning, organizational leadership, project management, and budget management skills.
- Has experience supporting organizational development, institutional effectiveness, and fiscal sustainability.
- Demonstrates excellent written, interpersonal, and group communication skills.
- Is comfortable leading through change, navigating complex institutional challenges, and pursuing innovative solutions while respecting institutional mission and culture.
- Demonstrates the ability to analyze data and use evidence-based approaches to support strategic and operational decision-making.
- Demonstrates adaptability, willingness to learn, and the ability to effectively utilize technology and software systems relevant to the position.
- Demonstrates respect for institutional identity and builds on CMU’s strengths while thoughtfully addressing areas for growth.
Required Qualifications
- Earned terminal degree from an accredited institution of higher education recognized by the CMU Board of Trustees; doctorate preferred.
- Minimum of five years of progressively responsible senior academic administrative leadership experience at the dean, director, vice president, provost, or equivalent level.
- Record of teaching, scholarship, and service sufficient to qualify for a faculty appointment in a discipline relevant to the University.
- Demonstrated experience in academic leadership, strategic planning, budgeting, accreditation, faculty development, and institutional administration.
Operational Leadership and Core Processes
The Provost & Chief Academic Officer is expected to actively engage in the University’s leadership and operational processes, including participation in EOS leadership structures and institutional planning processes that support accountability, communication, and organizational alignment.
Core processes may include:
- Participation in weekly Leadership L10 meetings following the EOS process.
- Leadership of Academic Affairs L10 meetings following the EOS process.
- Convening and supporting Academic Council activities.
- Collaboration across divisions to support institutional priorities and strategic initiatives.
These represent key leadership priorities for the position; however, there are many additional responsibilities and operational intricacies associated with the departments and units overseen by the Provost & Chief Academic Officer.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
The language skills include:
- Ability to read, analyze and interpret general written materials, professional journals, technical procedures, or government regulations.
- Ability to write reports and prepare and conduct verbal and visual presentation of materials.
- Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from top management, public groups, and board of directors.
REASONING ABILITY
Strategic and analytical reasoning skills are necessary. Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. While performing the duties of this job, the individual is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, and talk or hear. The individual must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those the individual in this position will encounter while performing the essential functions of this position. The individual typically performs the duties of the job in an open office setting. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to loud at times, with several disruptions throughout the day. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
DISCLAIMER
This position description is only a summary of the typical functions of this seat, and not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and areas of accountability.
SECTION III - THE PLACE
A comprehensive university in Grand Junction, Colorado Mesa University provides exceptional educational opportunities on a state-of-the-art campus. As western Colorado’s largest university, CMU serves students on its main campus in Grand Junction, its satellite campus in Montrose, its technical college, CMU Tech, and via online offerings.
Colorado Mesa University serves as the primary intellectual and cultural center of western Colorado and promotes the exchange of ideas that are of regional, national, and international importance. Founded in 1925, it is a dynamic university enrolling 10,000 students at the career and technical, associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels.
At the heart of the CMU experience is an integrative and experiential approach to higher education that encourages students to think differently and empowers them to challenge assumptions. CMU brings students together with expert scholars and thinkers from different disciplines to make connections between ideas and gain the skills to solve the unstructured, complex problems they will encounter in life. Our focus is on providing quality academic programs, built on a strong liberal arts core that supports students' interests and regional employment needs, as well as technical programs that respond to vocational workforce demands.
Colorado Mesa University is located in Grand Junction, the largest city between Salt Lake City and Denver and the heart of Colorado’s Western Slope. Known for its striking landscapes, outdoor recreation, and vibrant, growing communities, the area is defined by iconic natural features such as the Grand Mesa, Book Cliffs, Colorado River, and Colorado National Monument. With roughly 300 days of sunshine each year, Grand Junction offers access to world-class hiking, biking, rafting, scenic vistas, near year-round golf, skiing within driving distance, and vast public lands just minutes from campus.
Often described as the “biggest small town,” Grand Junction combines the feel of a welcoming small city with a dynamic cultural scene, including a downtown Creative District with local art galleries, performance spaces, public art, live music, restaurants, breweries, and community events. As a hub for communities across western Colorado and neighboring parts of Utah and Wyoming, Grand Junction offers the Provost and Chief Academic Officer meaningful opportunities to build partnerships with civic, industry, educational, healthcare, government, and workforce leaders who are deeply invested in CMU’s regional role. Together, the area’s natural beauty, cultural vitality, and livability provide CMU students, faculty, and staff with an exceptional quality of life. Together, the region offers a distinctive blend of natural beauty, cultural vitality, and livability—providing CMU students, faculty, and staff with an environment that supports both professional growth and an active, connected way of life.
SECTION IIII - WHAT SETS CMU APART?
https://www.coloradomesa.edu/president/human-scale/index.html
https://www.coloradomesa.edu/now/2024/10/shattering-perceptions-in-higher-education.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR4Y9wBFxBM
https://coloradosun.com/2025/11/07/opinion-colorado-mesa-social-contract/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbhbborhvT0
https://www.coloradomesa.edu/tech/hands
https://www.coloradomesa.edu/now/2024/11/cmu-leads-team-limelight-rainforest-to-win-10-million-xprize-competition-for-biodiversity-conservation.html
https://cmumavericks.com/news/2025/8/14/general-mavs-finish-second-in-entire-nation-with-280-d2-ada-academic-achievement-awardees.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksZAwX12Z-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVnwfFoH0YY
https://www.coloradomesa.edu/sustainability/initiatives/geo-grid.html
HOW TO APPLY: Applicants will be asked to complete an online application by creating a profile and then providing personal and demographic information. In addition, please be prepared to upload a:
Colorado Mesa University is particularly interested in candidates who have experience working with students from diverse backgrounds and who have a demonstrated commitment to improving the levels of access and success for underrepresented students within higher education.
Colorado Mesa University is committed to providing a safe and productive learning and living community. To achieve that goal, we conduct background investigations for all final applicants being considered for employment. Background investigations include reference checks, a criminal history record check, and when appropriate, a financial and/or motor vehicle history. Applicant must be able to verify U.S. employment eligibility. Colorado Mesa University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a culturally diverse faculty, staff and student body. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Any person with a disability as defined by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) may be provided reasonable accommodation upon request to enable the person to complete an employment assessment. To request an accommodation, please contact the CMU Human Resources Office by phone or email. You may be asked to provide additional information, including medical documentation, regarding functional limitations and the type of accommodation needed.
