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The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is seeking applicants for the position of Vice President, Economic Development and Community Engagement. This position will report to the President of APLU.
The Position
APLU seeks an experienced leader with knowledge of the role of higher education institutions in innovation and entrepreneurship; talent and workforce development; and social, cultural, and community advancement. While APLU recognizes that candidates may have more depth in one of these broad areas of university partnerships with external stakeholders, the association seeks someone who is able to apply knowledge and experience across a diverse array of partnerships, and across different kinds of economic and societal outcomes. The candidate should also be an experienced grant developer and leader of volunteers and/or distributed teams.
The incumbent will serve as the staff director—the principal organizer and coordinator—for the activities of the Council on Engagement and Outreach (CEO) and the Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Economic Prosperity (CICEP), the APLU groups that bring together professionals from across the university engagement enterprise (community engagement, public service, outreach, extension, innovation, technology transfer, industry partnerships, workforce development, etc.). S/he will relate the activities of the Council and Commission to work across APLU as well as serve as APLU’s liaison with other higher education associations and national organizations that influence federal policies and laws affecting the roles of universities in economic and societal impact.
The incumbent will provide expertise concerning implementation and effectiveness of new and existing programs at member universities in support of various APLU initiatives. S/he will promote initiatives to improve university engagement in community and economic development. S/he will act as the primary advocate for APLU’s Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) Universities program and will lead ongoing advancement and improvement of that program. S/he will develop concepts for grant development, pursue grant funding, and implement initiatives funded by foundations, federal agencies, and others.
Types of Candidates
The successful candidate may come from the ranks of current university economic or community engagement leadership, or from leadership of associations, government, foundations, or other organizations working at the intersection of higher education, economic development, community engagement, and/or university partnerships.
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD or terminal degree
- At least ten years of experience working with higher education institutions—preferably research universities—on issues related to their engagement in economic and workforce development, innovation and entrepreneurship, and/or community engagement
- Accomplishment in higher education and/or science and technology policy—analysis, development, and implementation, as well as publications or other demonstrations of thought leadership in the field
- Substantial fundraising experience with a record of securing and managing multiple large grants.
- Substantial experience leading or facilitating change at higher education institutions, toward helping them to be more engaged with—and to develop better partnerships with—external stakeholders
- Proven champion and advocate for university engagement with the economy and communities
- Existing relationships with key stakeholders in higher education engagement contexts
- Ability to innovate, both in ideas and implementation
- Collaborative leadership style and ability to serve as a unifying force for change
- Strong understanding of the economic and societal impacts of institutions of higher education, and how these are linked to the teaching/learning and research/discovery missions of these institutions
- Excellent persuasive written and oral communication skills
- Willingness and ability to travel up to 30 percent of the time
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Keep abreast of trends in the role of higher education in community and economic development, such as: talent and workforce development, including alternative credentialing approaches, flexible delivery options, and work-and-learn opportunities; social, cultural, and community development issues such as equitable and inclusive communities, creative placemaking, and community resilience; and innovation and entrepreneurship such as university start-ups, technology transfer, industry partnerships.
- Organize and coordinate the activities of the Council on Engagement and Outreach (CEO) and Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity (CICEP), including membership, and succession of leadership, of the Executive Committees, regular Executive Committee conference calls, multi-day Summer Meetings of the CEO and CICEP membership (~150 – 180 attendees), and CEO- and CICEP-sponsored sessions of the APLU Annual Meeting (~1,500 attendees).
- Help to catalyze university engagement by leading the Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) Universities initiative, focused on helping universities demonstrate their commitment to and accomplishment in economic and community engagement. Oversee the development of a learning community among designated and award-winning institutions. Provide leadership for the development of a research agenda around the corpus of IEP Universities applications and the community of designated and award-winning institutions.
- Maintain existing and develop new programs and initiatives and seek grant funding from private foundations and federal agencies to support them, to further advance university efforts in talent and workforce development, innovation and entrepreneurship, and social, cultural, and community engagement, coordinating as appropriate with other efforts underway across APLU.
- Working with the APLU Office of Public Affairs, identify and seek appropriate opportunities to publicly serve as an expert on university economic development and community engagement issues (i.e. media interviews, op-eds, and public speaking engagements).
- Serve as an advisor to the APLU Office of Congressional and Governmental Affairs on legislative and federal policy issues related to university economic and community engagement.
- As appropriate, serve as APLU’s liaison with other higher education associations (e.g. AAU, AASCU, AACC, ACE) and other national organizations that influence institutions of higher education, their public and private partners, and public policies and federal law affecting university economic and community engagement.
- Provide policy analysis and policy recommendations for current and pending federal legislation pertinent to universities’ role in economic and community development.
- In cooperation with other APLU leadership, design and organize key broad-audience sessions for the APLU Annual Meeting.
- Lead specific projects and task forces as may emerge from the APLU agenda.
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