New Position Announcement at Gammon Theological Seminary

New Position Announcement at Gammon Theological Seminary

Title: Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs/Chief Academic Officer

Type: Full-Time

Posted: 04//2024

Application Due: Applications will be accepted through April 26th 2024 with the expectation of having someone in place by June 2024.

General Position Summary:

Gammon Theological Seminary seeks a qualified, effective, and energetic theological educator for the position of Chief Academic Officer/Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs. This person will serve as the Chief Academic Officer of the Seminary. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, Gammon Theological Seminary is a historically African American Theological Institution, one of thirteen United Methodist Seminaries and the only historically black Seminary in our denomination.

The mission of Gammon is “We are a United Methodist Seminary born of the Black Experience and rooted in the Wesleyan Tradition. We educate and equip leaders who advocate for peace and justice in the world.” The successful candidate will hold the Doctor of Philosophy (or equivalent) in a core theological discipline, as well as documented success as a scholar, professor, administrator, and practitioner in theological education. The Chief Academic Officer reports directly to the President. The CAO oversees all aspects of academics within the seminary. They will oversee and work collaboratively with full-time and contingent faculty. The CAO oversees allcurricular and co-curricular work. The CAO fosters academic growth and development that cultivates a diverse faculty, staff and student body, remains aware of and responsive to the changing landscape of theological education to develop

and execute academic policies; budget and administers academic programs and related activities; strategically identify and manage fiscal priorities. The successful candidate will be a student-centered, equity-minded, innovative, and collaborative leader with expertise in leading academic and student affairs. The next CAO will have excellent organizational skills, ability to delegate appropriately and with accountability, strong communication skills, ability to inspire others to address challenges and implement changes, experience in planning and accreditation, currency in national student success reform initiatives and a track record of developing and contributing to high performing teams in a complex, fast-paced environment. The candidate must be able to work collaboratively with the President, internal and external constituents to champion robust, cohesive, and holistic institutional approaches to student success, bolstered by academic and organizational excellence.

Key Responsibilities:

• Is the ranking administrator for the Seminary in the absence of the Dean/President
• Represents the Seminary in the absence of the Dean/President
• Provides curricular and co-curricular leadership, vision, and direction to meet the mission of the seminary. This includes providing leadership and counsel to the faculty and committees of the seminary.
• Oversees annual faculty and support staff reviews, promotion and tenure processes, and sabbatical planning.
• Work closely with the President and other constituents to develop, implement and communicate academic and holistic development strategies and plans for academic programs for seminary
• Leads efforts to develop, assess, and maintain curricular programs in partnership with faculty and registrar.
• Serves as primary contact and leader for assessment of student learning and works closely with faculty, staff, and other constituents in accreditation activities.
• Oversees the work of the student affairs staff to meet/exceed enrollment targets, retention rates, disciplinary issues, and graduation rates for all programs and to ensure that mission-driven academic and co-curricular outcomes are achieved.
• Oversees in partnership with the President the Accreditation and re-accreditation process with SACSCOC and
• ATS (Association of Theological Schools).
• Ensures ADA and Title IX compliance.
• Teaching one course per academic year
• Prepares reports related to curricular and co-curricular work.
• The candidate must understand the importance of accreditation and be knowledgeable about accreditation processes.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Attributes:

1. Earned Ph.D. or its equivalent in a field appropriate to a theological curriculum broadly conceived
2. A distinguished record of teaching experience in theological education
3. Master of Divinity (M.Div.) or record of substantive ministerial experience in the church
4. A strong record of professional scholarship in their discipline
5. An understanding of the changing nature of the Church in the 21st century
6. Demonstrated ability to innovate and drive change in an institutional setting
7. Demonstrated leadership qualities of integrity, fairness, openness, humility, resilience, transparency, collaboration, and accountability
8. Ability to lead, inspire, motivate, and supervise the faculty as well as develop a sense of collegiality
9. Ability to supervise all aspects of student recruitment, enrollment, admissions, financial aid, registration, support services, campus life and worship, commencement.
10. Demonstrated ability to manage a budget and attend to administrative matters in a timely, effective manner
11. Ability to think and act strategically and systemically for the benefit of the entire seminary community and its constituents
12. Trustworthy, with an ability to handle personnel matters and maintain appropriate confidentiality
13. The Dean must understand the importance of accreditation not only as an external accountability structure, but also as an opportunity to integrate the ongoing work of assessment into the improvement of the curriculum and SFTS‟s teaching.

Please submit an electronic copy of a cover letter, an updated curriculum vitae, names and contact information of three recommenders, and unofficial transcripts to the address directly below. All materials should be submitted in a single packet. Only applications containing all the items noted above, fully completed, will be considered.

If you have any questions or need clarifications, please email deanclewis@gammon-itc.org or call 404-581-0181. Please submit completed application to Dr. Candace M Lewis, President/Dean deanclewis@gammon-tc.org.