Vice President and Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion Job Announcement

THE POSITION

The inaugural Vice President and Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion will provide strategic vision and transformational leadership in advancing our mission to be an equity-minded, student-ready, inclusive institution. The position will establish collaborative partnerships with faculty, staff and students to develop and implement a Strategic Equity plan that advances a culture of inquiry, grounded in equity, aimed at supporting the success of all of our students at the College.

Evergreen is a dynamic institution that holds a historically pivotal national role in innovative higher education. In October, 2015, newly-appointed President George Bridges launched the bold set of initiatives currently transforming Evergreen’s culture and practices concerning equity and inclusion. This position represents an excellent opportunity to join Dr. Bridges’ executive team, an engaged faculty and staff, and creative students in our work. The promotion of and support for an equitable and inclusive community requires the engagement of the entire college, but will be guided by the leadership of the new Vice President and Vice Provost of Equity and Inclusion.

Evergreen’s new Vice President and Vice Provost of Equity and Inclusion will report to the President and the Provost, serve as a member of the President’s Senior Leadership Group (i.e., the President’s “cabinet”), chair the College’s Equity and Inclusion Council (charged by President Bridges in Spring, 2016), and assume responsibility for allocating the President’s Equity Fund. The position will advance an equity mindset in all college-wide initiatives, including strategic planning, budgeting, and resource allocation.

The successful candidate will apply expertise and judgment to design several aspects of the Vice President/Vice Provost role and position structure. We anticipate that collaborative partnerships with faculty, staff and students will be vital in building upon the College’s 2016-17 Strategic Equity Plan to:

Engage the campus community in developing and implementing initiatives to eliminate gaps in equity and student outcomes;
Address institutional goals focused on campus climate, faculty and staff development, and recruitment and retention of students, staff and faculty.

We recognize the importance of students’ experiences inside and outside of the classroom. In close collaboration with the Provost and other senior academic leaders, the inaugural VP/VP will develop an approach for instruction, implementation, and ongoing support of pedagogical strategies to advance a culture of inquiry, grounded in equity and designed to support the success of all of our students. The position coordinates equity-minded professional development and provides operational direction to faculty and staff working on those professional development programs, including the Director of the planned Teaching and Learning Center, Academic Deans, and staff in Student Affairs and Human Resource Services. The successful candidate will also collaborate with the Faculty Hiring and Development and Human Resource Services and others to develop strategies for recruiting and retaining a diverse staff and faculty, to provide anti-bias training for all hiring committees, and to strengthen and assess efforts to achieve the Evergreen’s equity goals for hiring and retention.

The VP/VP will chair the College’s Equity and Inclusion Council, which is composed of students, staff, and faculty, including many staff who have operational responsibility for Evergreen’s equity programs.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Serve as a member of the President’s Senior Leadership Group, providing strategic and operational leadership and acting as a resource to articulate, establish benchmarks for, and enact support of Evergreen’s goals of equity and inclusion. The goal is to have every student feel welcomed, nurtured and supported.
Work with multiple constituencies while providing high energy, collaborative, reflective, and visionary leadership using team-focused, people-centered, outcome-oriented, transparent practices.
Lead, influence and facilitate institutional change through colleagues and resource partners, and by advancing an inclusive educational community for students, staff, and faculty of differing perspectives, lifestyles, experiences, and cultural backgrounds.
Strengthen Evergreen’s ability to integrate, support, and make visible all services and programs that address equity issues, and clarify accountability in each part of the College.
Collaborate with the Provost and deans as an advocate for inclusive and critical pedagogical practices, and for the development of curricula that reflect the diversity of Evergreen’s student population and that build intercultural knowledge and competencies.
Identify strategies and programs to eliminate gaps in student aspirations, access, and outcomes.
Work collaboratively with faculty and staff leadership to develop programs and initiatives to mentor and strengthen retention of marginalized students, staff and faculty.
Collaborate with Human Resource Services, the Provost, Academic Deans, and Student Affairs, in coordination with staff and faculty unions, to identify and implement employee orientation and professional development needed to foster transformative anti-bias and anti-oppression practices among students, staff, and faculty, and advance proficiency with cultural competency and identity development.
Partner with Human Resource Services and Faculty Hiring and Development to develop recruitment strategies to attract diverse candidate pools for staff and faculty positions, and coordinate anti-bias training for all hiring committees.
Collaborate, coordinate, and guide the work of equity-focused groups and initiatives on multicultural programming including the Day of Absence/Day of Presence and others.
Serve as an expert resource for the identification and analysis of best practices and national trends related to access, achievement, inclusion, intercultural competencies, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and articulation of the value of equitable practices for all.
Serve as an expert resource and spokesperson for the distinct concerns of underrepresented and diverse communities at Evergreen, including engagement with students and student groups.
Coordinate with Institutional Research on the assessment of initiatives and benchmarks intended to assess equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Assist in identifying and writing grant proposals to private, local, state, and federal sources in support of the College’s equity initiatives.
Support and consult with the members of the Bias Incident Response Team, Title IX Coordinator, Student Conduct Officer, and Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Officer to promote equitable processes, and to gain insight into issues and trends impacting campus climate.
Consult regularly with legal compliance staff including the Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Officer and the Title IX Coordinator to stay abreast of state and federal regulations and pending legislation related to equity, affirmative action, and equal opportunity to ensure college policy affirms equity and is in compliance with all legal requirements.
In coordination with the President, develop meaningful relationships and common-interest programs with community leaders, tribal leaders and governments, civic and grassroots organizations, international communities, and federal, state, and local governments.

THE ORGANIZATION

About Evergreen: A Progressive, Public College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Since opening its doors in 1971, Evergreen has established a national reputation for its leadership in developing interdisciplinary, team-taught, thematic learning communities. Serving a population of striking diversity and complexity that belie its size, the College maintains many of the vital and distinctive practices that have been its hallmarks since its founding: a dynamic curriculum characterized predominantly by full-time, team-taught, interdisciplinary, multi-quarter programs; learning communities; narrative evaluations of student work instead of grades; unranked faculty with no disciplinary departments; inclusive governance structures and academic deans who rotate from and return to the faculty; and a teaching and learning culture where students engage with and take responsibility for their own work. Evergreen’s mission is to serve as an innovative public liberal arts and sciences college that emphasizes collaborative and interdisciplinary learning across significant differences.

Evergreen’s academic community asks students to define and think critically about their learning. The College is committed to addressing local issues in a global context with an emphasis on social justice, equity, environmental stewardship, and service in the public interest.

Our Campuses and Public Service Centers

Evergreen’s main campus is located on 1,000 forested acres at the southern tip of Puget Sound. Seattle, Portland, Mt. Rainier National Park, the Pacific Ocean, and the rain forests of Olympic National Park are all within a one- to two-hour drive.

Along with the main campus in Olympia, Evergreen has an upper-division learning community of about 200 students in Tacoma as well as upper division reservation-based program serving tribal communities throughout Western Washington. The Tacoma Program is housed in an urban setting that is strongly connected to the surrounding community.

Public service centers and projects deepen the College’s commitment to learning that links theory and practice. They include:

The Five Foci and Six Expectations of an Evergreen Graduate

Evergreen’s unique approach to the liberal arts is articulated in the Five Foci: interdisciplinary studies, collaborative learning, learning across significant differences, student engagement, and linking theory with practice. These foci are actualized in the Six Expectations of an Evergreen Graduate, which designate the capacity to: articulate and assume responsibility for one’s own work; participate collaboratively and responsibly in a diverse society; communicate creatively and effectively; demonstrate integrative, independent, critical thinking; apply qualitative, quantitative and creative modes of inquiry appropriately to practical and theoretical problems across disciplines; and, as a culmination of the educational program, demonstrate depth, breadth and synthesis of learning and showcase the ability to reflect on the personal and social significance of that learning.

In addition to the Five Foci and the Six Expectations, the College articulates four core themes: integrated, interdisciplinary learning; individuals engaged in community; environmental stewardship and social justice; and diversity and equity. These themes reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the College itself and highlight and reinforce interdependence across fields of study, administrative divisions, and strategic priorities. The intended overall result of these commitments is an institution in which the faculty, staff, students, and the larger community of alumni and friends understand the interconnection of Evergreen’s academic activities and general operations with the College mission and, as a result, its service to the public interest. The College recently adopted a new, four-year strategic plan.

Evergreen remains committed to its defining identity as both a public institution - in the sense of broad access, a diverse academic community, and a focus on serving the public good - and a liberal arts and sciences college. Well aware that its chosen approach presents unique challenges, the College strives to sustain a productive tension between extraordinary student responsibility for determining personal academic pathways and an institutional commitment to promote the breadth and depth of a liberal education. Evergreen determined at the outset that exercising the right to determine one’s aspirations, one’s work, should be part of the college experience. As such, the educational program supports a high level of student engagement that in turn leads to deep learning.

To increase the possibility that such utopian freedom will be exercised responsibly, it is the College’s duty to provide substantial guidance in the form of effective advising, to require that students be able to reflect upon and communicate their choices, and to offer a curriculum that will make it possible to achieve the liberal arts capacities of thought and action as expressed in the Six Expectations.

The Evergreen State College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). The College completed its “Year Three” review (in a 7-year cycle), which included a “virtual visit” in 2013. For more detailed information, please see the self-study at: http://www.evergreen.edu/provost/accreditation.htm#Accreditation.

Faculty and Staff

The Evergreen State College is a singular place, with an extraordinarily engaged faculty, student body, and staff. Faculty sustain a lively internal conversation about the meaning and value of a liberal arts and sciences education, are passionate about its value in the public domain, and have a deep appreciation for the diverse experiences that students bring to their learning. Faculty are unranked, with a uniform pay scale across all disciplines, and team-teaching is the primary mode of instruction.

The curriculum is developed collaboratively and consultatively by the faculty as a whole, divided into Planning Units and temporary Academic Program Teams. Budgets, space issues, and hiring are handled separately by the Planning Units, to reduce territorial and factional tendencies. The work of planning the curriculum is facilitated by the Academic Deans, who are members of the faculty and rotate through the Deanery for four-year terms. The college’s successful innovation is deeply linked to the faculty’s curricular freedom and responsibility. The college formalized its commitment to maintaining and supporting that freedom in its Collective Bargaining Agreement, initiated in 2008 and administered by the Vice President/Provost.

Among Evergreen’s strengths is the diversity of the faculty. The College understands that a faculty that reflects the diversity of the students they serve is important to student success. Given recent trends in student body demographics, Evergreen’s faculty composition has not kept pace with student composition in terms of veteran status, disability status, LatinX, African-American, or Multi-racial faculty. As faculty retire, thoughtful attention to recruiting a diverse pool of candidates for open faculty positions will be necessary to preserve this strength. With a significant number of faculty who are comparatively new to the college and a curricular model dependent upon the creation of strong teaching teams, the College must emphasize orientation programs for new faculty and create substantial opportunities for faculty to work together to promote teaching across widely divergent academic disciplines and to continue strengthening Evergreen’s unique pedagogy.

Evergreen’s faculty, classified civil service staff, and some professional staff in Student Affairs are unionized and represented through collective bargaining agreements. Ninety percent of the 163 full time faculty members hold terminal degrees. People of color comprise 23 percent of the faculty and 22 percent of the staff. Fifty-three percent of faculty members are women. Thirty-eight percent of faculty members are in adjunct positions.

Students

Not surprisingly, given Evergreen’s uniqueness, the majority of enrolling students describe Evergreen as their first choice. For some, Evergreen is their only choice. Evergreen’s commitment to interdisciplinary academic programs accounts for one part of the attraction. Another appeal is the College’s location in the Pacific Northwest and the Olympia campus’s 1,000 acres. The institution uses these assets to strengthen academic programs. The College’s organic farm, as well as field studies on campus and in the region, support themes of sustainability and social justice in the curriculum.

Nearly 60 percent of new students transfer to the College from other institutions, primarily from the state’s community colleges, making this constituency the largest among the many and diverse cohorts that comprise The Evergreen State College student body. Students in the Tacoma and reservation-based programs are also upper-division students, as are most students in the evening and weekend program, making the traditional four-year liberal arts students, many of whom hail from out of state, a minority of the total population. The Reservation-Based Community Determined program partners with Grays Harbor College to offer a bridge program for lower-division students. Sixty-nine percent of all degree-seeking students receive some sort of financial aid, including loans and grants. The discount rate in recent years is approximately15 percent.

Student enrollment is approximately 4,000 (FTE). Students of color comprise 26 percent in Olympia, 57 percent in Tacoma, and 83 percent in the reservation-based program. Thirty-eight percent of undergraduate students are aged 24 or older; 30 percent are first generation; 51 percent are low income; and 11 percent have reported disabilities.

Finances

The College’s current annual operating budget is approximately $54 million. An additional $29 million annually is earned through auxiliary, grants, contracts, and related activities. Fifty-six percent of the College’s operating revenue derives from tuition and mandatory fee collections, with the balance provided by the State of Washington. This reflects a significant reinvestment of public dollars in higher education over the past four years. In the 2011-13 biennium, the state’s share of the College’s operating budget was 36 percent. This increased to 38% in the 2013-15 biennium, and currently stands at 44 percent. During this period of state reinvestment, the College’s primary budget challenges have stemmed from enrollment shortfalls.

The Equity and Inclusion Council

The objective of the Equity and Inclusion Council, as outlined in President George Bridge’s charge, is to “[advance] Evergreen’s commitment to and aspirations for greater equity, diversity, and inclusion of under-represented populations in our campus community” through the development of “proactive, strategic, and sustained initiatives for progressive institutional change.”

The membership of the Equity and Inclusion Council, students, staff, and faculty, can be found on the Council website. Evergreen’s equity programs include (among others): multicultural advising, services for students with disabilities, student recruitment, TRiO programs, Veterans Center, the Tacoma Program, the Reservation-Based Community Determined Program, and the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center, and the Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity program.

Excerpts from the 2016-2017 Strategic Equity Plan of the Equity and Inclusion Council

Background and Need

As we look back to the early years of Evergreen, in the 1970s, it seemed there had always been a need to further explore how faculty, staff and students were reaching the needs of all students enrolled on the campus. Students of color began to openly question whether they were represented in and out of the classroom. As a response they formed the Third World Coalition, which is currently the First Peoples Multicultural Advising Services office. Several college-wide committees were formed to investigate and begin to try and address the gaps that students were experiencing in the classroom. Calls for mandatory anti-oppression training for faculty were also requested.

Since then, many efforts campus-wide have been aimed at addressing these same gaps, for example the Tacoma program, Native Programs, First Peoples Multicultural Advising Services, TRiO Student Success, Upward Bound, Veteran’s Resources Center, as well as the 2006 Diversity DTF which spawned the Diversity and Equity Standing Committee – our functional equivalent until President Bridges March 2016 charge and the creation of the Diversity and Equity Council, now named the Equity and Inclusion Council.

The prior inclusion/diversity work is ongoing and is also included in other current campus work. Its influence can be seen in: Summer Institutes, the work of the Faculty Agenda Committee, the Washington Center and various Curriculum DTF’s along with an array of faculty, staff and student initiatives. As a nod back to our history, still we hear requests from staff, students and faculty to implement mandatory anti-oppression training for faculty.

Nevertheless, a review of our quantitative and qualitative institutional data, including student voices (most recently, the formal requests of Trans and African American students) makes clear that equity gaps persist. In order to close these gaps, the Council suggests that the College move from a diversity agenda focused on intercultural understanding to an equity agenda, an agenda that recognizes the existence of equity gaps and strives to close them. Despite the presence of existing programs, more faculty, staff and services are needed across the college to support students at the undergraduate and graduate levels in their educational pathways.

Mission and Vision Statement of the Equity and Inclusion Council

The Council has listened to the concerns of students, staff, and faculty from historically underserved communities. Their experiences place faces and names to the equity gaps that exist on our campus. We are therefore compelled and committed to take actions that improve outcomes for the most underserved members of our community. Over the course of the 2016-17 academic year, we are proposing a paradigm shift, grounded in the College's long-standing diversity efforts, to an institution-wide approach that establishes a culture of inquiry, grounded in equity, aimed at supporting the success of all our students.

Equity in higher education refers to creating opportunities for equal access and success among underserved student populations, such as students of color and low-income students. In the post- secondary education research community, equity is defined in three ways: representational equity, the proportional representation of underserved populations within the student body and also the representation of underrepresented faculty and staff at all levels of the institution; resource equity, which takes into account the educational resources that are directed at closing equity gaps in student learning and student success; and equity-mindedness which involves institutional leaders (faculty, staff, and administration) demonstrating an awareness and a willingness to address equity issues.

The Council’s Strategic Equity Plan offers a series of recommendations in the hopes of promoting more equitable practices in all of the above areas by transforming our current systems of governance, campus-wide education, and faculty and staff hiring development. The Council also proposed a broader use of data to determine and assess our equity goals, as Evergreen strives to become a more student-ready college.

THE PERSON

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCES, AND LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES:

Doctoral or terminal degree in education, public administration, social science, human resources or a related field, and five years of progressively responsible experience in program building, administration and teaching; OR
Master’s degree in education, public administration, social science, human resources or a related field, and ten years of progressively responsible experience in program building, administration and teaching; AND
Demonstrated experience facilitating initiatives that strengthen a culture of inquiry, and create an inclusive campus climate through policies, practices, and education.
Demonstrated experience in fostering collaborative work in a highly dynamic, decentralized, complex institution resulting in measurable outcomes that increase access and remove barriers for students.

Demonstrated leadership ability to make effective and timely decisions.
Demonstrated ability to communicate and maintain effective interpersonal and professional relationships with people with a range of lived experiences, and diverse and fluid identities.
Understanding of the nuances of the contexts, cultures, and power structures within higher education that affect access and achievement.
Expertise in the field of equity pedagogy, and demonstrated ability to translate that knowledge into practical applications.
Demonstrated experience using institutional data to benchmark and promote accountability.
Excellent communication skills with a demonstrated ability to listen to a variety of constituents, synthesize input, and share information broadly in order to build consensus and support for action with a clearly articulated vision.
Awareness and understanding of applicable laws, regulations, and policies, including affirmative action, related to equity and diversity in public higher education.

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

Evidence of reflective leadership that instills trust and creates a culture fostering high standards of integrity.
Expertise in critical theory, and/or teaching experience in critical pedagogy.
Demonstrated expertise in equity-oriented pedagogical practices, and demonstrated ability to translate this expertise into practical applications.
Demonstrated progressively superior results generating a positive environment of equity and inclusiveness in work with student affairs, employment, and/or community social justice work.
Awareness and ability to articulate histories of oppression, civil rights, and justice in relation to educational impacts on students.
Experience working collaboratively with systemically marginalized groups beyond institutional boundaries to promote equity and inclusion.
Knowledge and productive use of mediation, diplomacy, consensus building, conflict management and resolution; sees equity as both a means and an end.

Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. is assisting The Evergreen State College in this search. Initial screening of applications will begin immediately and will continue until an appointment is made. For best consideration, applications and nominations should be provided as soon as possible. Individuals who wish to nominate a candidate should submit a letter of nomination including contact information for the nominee. Those wishing to apply should submit: (1) a letter addressing how their experiences match the position responsibilities, requirements and direction of the College; (2) a curriculum vitae; and (3) contact information for at least three references; (4) a one to two-page statement addressing the specific experience, knowledge, and philosophy they bring to leading institutional change toward equity and inclusion that supports the success of all students. Confidential inquiries, nominations and application materials should be directed to:

Jan Greenwood & Betty Turner Asher, Partners

Marion Frenche, Principal and Practice Leader

Julie Holley, Principal

Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc.

42 Business Centre Drive, Suite 206

Miramar Beach, Florida 32550

Phone: 850-650-2277 / Fax: 850-650-2272

Email: marionfrenche@greenwoodsearch.com

Email: julieholley@greenwoodsearch.com

Additional information about The Evergreen State College may be found at: www.evergreen.edu. A complete search profile with information about the College and the desired attributes for the position may be found at www.evergreen.edu/equity