Provost Position Search – Campus Updates

Dear BC Community,

I’m very excited to announce that the search for the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs has gone live and we are now actively recruiting candidates and accepting applications.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the stakeholder listening sessions or the written survey as your feedback informed the development of the position profile, a document that describes the roles, responsibilities, desired qualifications, and necessary qualities of our next provost. You can access the position profile and other search information on the BC Provost Search website.

I encourage you to recommend potential provost candidates by submitting a nomination to our search firm partners through the EQU Advisors website. Our consultants have begun their outreach to generate a robust and diverse candidate pool and will follow up on all nominations submitted.

Provost candidates are encouraged to submit their application materials by January 10, 2024. Finalist candidates are expected to visit campus at the end of February.

Sincerely,

David May, President

Dear BC Community,                 

Shortly after becoming president, I shared that we would begin searches for two leadership positions beginning in the fall. The first is the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs position, which I believe to be critical to our institution and the senior leadership team. The second position is the Vice President of Student Affairs, which I revised from the current associate vice president title to elevate the voice of student affairs operationally and symbolically within the college’s leadership structure.

This email provides an update on the search for a Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs. More information on the Vice President of Student Affairs search will be shared soon.

Frances Dujon Reynolds, Vice President of Human Resources, and Eric Davis, Dean of Science, have agreed to serve as the Provost Screening Committee Chair and the DEI Advocate, respectively. More information on the members of the screening committee and the search timeline can be found on the Provost Search website. The College has also engaged a search firm, EQU Advisors, to support our efforts in searching for our next provost. 

An important aspect of running a successful search is recruiting a well-qualified and diverse pool of candidates who could be effective and inclusive leaders on our campus. To help that process, I hope that you will share your perspectives as we work to recruit that broad pool. You are invited to do that by responding to this confidential campus feedback survey or attending a listening session in early October (Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 PM via Zoom or Thursday, Oct. 6 at 10:00 AM via Zoom). The questions discussed in the listening sessions will be identical to those presented in the survey.

Thank you in advance for supporting the College’s efforts in this important work. If you have any questions about the listening sessions or surveys, please contact Alicia Keating Polson at alicia.keatingpolson@bellevuecollege.edu.

Sincerely, 

David May, President

Dear BC Community,                 

I am writing to share some news with you regarding two leadership positions at the college. The first is the provost position, which has been vacant for about 18 months. I believe the provost role to be critical to our institution and for the senior leadership team. Given this importance, I will be starting a search for a person to fill that role, and they will serve as the Chief Academic Officer and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Frances Dujon Reynolds, Vice President of Human Resources, and Eric Davis, Dean of Science, have agreed to serve as the Provost Screening Committee Chair and the DEI Advocate, respectively. They will soon begin their work forming the screening committee. Additionally, the College has engaged a search firm, EQU Advisors, to support our effort in finding our next provost. 

The second position will be a Vice President of Student Affairs. Questions about this position were raised in conversations with many constituent groups. It was suggested that the position should be a Vice President level position rather than an AVP position and, after consultation with the Cabinet, I decided to move forward at that level. As we continue to center students in every aspect of our work, now is the time to elevate the voice of student affairs within the college’s leadership structure. We will be engaging a search firm and forming a full screening committee for this search as well, but we have not finalized those details at this time; more information will be shared soon.

One important aspect of running a successful executive search is recruiting a well-qualified and diverse pool of candidates who could be effective and inclusive leaders on our campus. To help that process, there will be opportunities to share your thoughts and feedback at the beginning of the Fall Quarter by attending a listening session or completing a confidential written survey. I hope you will share your perspectives then as we work to recruit that deep pool of candidates.

The search for these two positions will begin in the Fall Quarter. More information, including specific timelines for both searches, will be shared in September. Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts in this important work. 

Sincerely, 

David May, President