Division of Academic Affairs

Leadership Profile

The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost) will drive the academic and research agenda for the University in collaboration with the deans and faculty. Coppin desires an experienced and successful academic leader and an action-oriented visionary with an innovative approach and strong management, interpersonal, and communication skills.

The Provost will be a member of the President’s Cabinet and will report directly to President Anthony L. Jenkins, Ph.D., who became president on May 26, 2020. This position provides the invaluable opportunity of being a key team member in shaping the academic vision of a new administration.

This position has broadly delegated responsibility for leadership and articulation of the academic mission and goals of the University to both internal and external constituencies.

The Provost provides leadership in curriculum, program development, and accreditation activities; advances the teaching and learning environment; promotes faculty development and creative and scholarly activities, including research and outreach; and provides overall academic leadership for strategic planning. The Provost encourages and supports an innovative academic structure, strengthening undergraduate and graduate research, teaching, and public service. In addition, the Provost engages in economic development initiatives and community relations.

Current direct reports to the Provost include:

• The Academic Deans of the four colleges;
• Two Associate or Assistant Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs;
• The Dean of the Honors College, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Director of the Library, the Office of Sponsored Programs; and
• Budget Manager and other academic support areas.

The Provost participates in institutional, financial, and facility planning, policy development, problem-solving, and coordinating activities with other related units within the University. In addition, the Provost is responsible for the oversight of all academic personnel, which includes the development and implementation of fair and equitable processes for academic personnel decisions. Management includes hiring, salary, tenure and promotion, post-tenure review implementation, and, as necessary, ensuring execution of grievance and disciplinary processes in accord with applicable University and System policies.

As the chief academic officer, the Provost represents the University and participates with peers in activities to strengthen and increase the academic reputation of Coppin State University and the University System of Maryland.

The Provost will assume an active leadership role to cultivate and promote collaboration and partnerships across disciplines. Working with external constituencies, the Provost will increase the research reputation and work in concert with all university and System community members to achieve strategic priorities. They will drive the academic agenda by facilitating resources to support the recruitment and retention of solid research and teaching faculty and administrators. In all relationships, the Provost wears the mantle of the academic leader of the University community.

The Provost manages recruitment, training, supervision, professional development, and the evaluation of division faculty and staff.

The Provost establishes and maintains partnerships and other community relationships that expand the University’s ability to serve its current and any new targeted communities.

Desired Qualifications

The candidates best suited to be Coppin State’s next Provost will have a demonstrated record of success and practical knowledge of best practices in the following areas:

• Serve as a change agent; driving organizational change through consensus, short- and long-term strategic and tactical planning from concept, through implementation, to outcomes and assessment;
• Lead and facilitate the application of technology in teaching and learning, in assessments and data analysis, and throughout the administrative infrastructure; demonstrate a commitment to all forms of creative learning methods, including experiential learning, international education, flipped classrooms, hybrid, and online methods;
• Progressive budgeting, resource allocation, financial management responsibilities; zero-based budgeting experience desired;
• Ability to lead a culture of accountability and manage an academic organization through an atmosphere of collegiality, shared inquiry, shared governance, responsibility, and collective accomplishment;
• Strong team building, faculty and staff development, and mentoring;
• Understand the use of data to drive decisions, develop and implement strategies to monitor programs, and the overall advancement of Coppin’s academic, student success, and administrative infrastructure;
• A deep understanding of and commitment to the University’s core missions, including urban community engagement; and an appreciation of where value can be gained and leveraged from the mission and being part of the University System of Maryland;
• Establishing and growing partnerships with various institutions, including urban-centered, minority-serving institutions, and creating sustainable links with elected officials, community leaders, and other external stakeholders;
• Have teaching, research and/or service experience at a Research 1 and/or Research 2 university preferred;
• Engage in resource development to support growing mission-appropriate research; building new programs; fundraising, grants, public/private partnerships, and other creative ways to enhance resources, including with nonprofits, governments, and businesses initiatives;
• Direct exposure to accreditation, academic program review, student learning outcomes assessment, and curriculum development at the undergraduate and graduate levels;
• Strengthen connections between academic affairs and student affairs; work with enrollment professionals and others to implement best practices to recruit and attract a greater number of new first-time, transfer, and graduate students and improve retention and graduation rates;
• Experience working in a state supported higher education system.

Personality traits and characteristics we envision the next Provost will display are:

• Approachable and personable, with a desire to maintain an open dialogue with faculty, staff, and students and be visible at campus events and in the community;
• Outstanding listening and communication skills with all types of people and media; and current in the use of social media and other modes of communication;
• Student-centered leader, who enjoys participating in all types of student activities, whether academic, research, arts, athletics, convocation, or others;
• Excellent problem-solving, interpersonal, and consensus-building skills;
• Fair, thoughtful, decisive, politically astute, and innovative;
• Energetic; willing to take risks; and able to make decisions and act on those decisions promptly; and
• High aspirations, a positive outlook, strong personal character, integrity, and executive presence.

Leadership Agenda

The next Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Coppin State University will have many opportunities to help President Jenkins and other senior leaders to advance the University to higher levels of academic, research, and student success. Among the leadership opportunities will be the following:

• Innovate to nurture a multigenerational learning environment;
• Drive academic culture from continuous improvement to continuous excellence;
• Enhance community engagement, in all aspects, including leading to Carnegie designation as a community-engaged institution;
• Enhance mission-appropriate research, including educational research on adult learning and full use of urban living/learning laboratory surrounding campus;
• Work with enrollment management to provide the right programs and course pathways to attract, retain, and graduate more students;
• Be able to plan for and address enrollment increases with strategic and targeted faculty and staff growth;
• Work with faculty and units on campus to prepare for Middle States reaccreditation in 2025-2026;
• Improve campus and academic affairs policies to be student-centered and helpful, streamlined, clear, and effective;
• Embrace the real opportunities to make even more of a difference and impact in West Baltimore, in the whole city, and region, especially at a crucial time of increased national and local attention on the area;
• Enhance evening, hybrid, and online course offerings and support services to serve current and potential students;
• Engage in robust and independent, data-driven program review, including analysis of current and future programs, program offerings CSU has currently and could offer, at offsite USM centers in Hagerstown, Shady Grove, and Laurel;
• Be a strong advocate for CSU, within the University System of Maryland, and other City and State arenas;
• Working with Institutional Advancement colleagues and others to enhance the image of Coppin with prospective students, with the community, and within academia, including getting more of Coppin’s great success stories told and understood more broadly;
• Build and leverage public-private-educational partnerships for internships, career pathways, and scholarship support for students;
• Build full and robust academic and co-curricular experiences for all types of students, particularly part-time and nontraditional students not living on campus;
• Cultivate a culture of positive expectations, shared vision, appropriate roles, and support for the Division of Academic Affairs; and
• Build internal cooperation and collaboration across units to increase cohesiveness, efficiency, and a student-centered culture of support and success.