About the role
Key Responsibilities
Academic Leadership
Provide strategic and operational leadership for all academic programs, schools, and departments, ensuring quality, rigor, and alignment with GCU's mission and Mercy Core Values.
Oversee curriculum development, program review, new program launches, and program suspensions in coordination with deans, department chairs, and faculty governance bodies.
Collaborate in institutional accreditation efforts, including compliance with Middle States Commission on Higher Education standards and program-specific accreditors (e.g., nursing, education, business, social work).
Supervise recruitment, development, evaluation, and (where applicable) tenure and promotion processes for faculty, in partnership with the Faculty Assembly and academic deans.
Champion academic innovation, including online and hybrid program development, experiential learning, and interdisciplinary initiatives that respond to workforce and regional needs.
Provide leadership in establishing mutually beneficial external relationships and partnerships.
Support institutional efforts to secure external funding from foundations, corporations, and federal agencies.
Student Affairs and Campus Life
Direct all student affairs functions, including residence life, student engagement, health and wellness, campus ministry, and student conduct.
Ensure a campus culture rooted in the Mercy Core Values of respect, integrity, justice, compassion, and service, fostering student formation as well as academic achievement.
Oversee student support services (advising, tutoring, disability services, counseling, and career development) to strengthen retention and completion.
Serve as a visible, accessible presence to students, faculty, and staff, and as the University's principal point of accountability for student welfare and Title IX/Clery compliance.
Enrollment, Retention, and Student Success
Partner with Enrollment Management and Marketing to align academic offerings with market demand, competitive positioning, and enrollment goals.
Lead data-informed retention strategies, using early-alert systems, advising redesign, and co-curricular programming to improve persistence and completion rates.
Monitor key performance indicators (enrollment, retention, graduation rates, student satisfaction) and report regularly to the President and Board of Trustees.
Institutional Leadership and Administration
Serve as a key member of the President's Cabinet, contributing to university-wide strategic planning, budgeting, and policy development.
Manage the Academic and Student Affairs division's operating budget, ensuring fiscally responsible stewardship of resources amid the University's broader financial planning priorities.
Represent the University to external constituencies, including accrediting bodies, the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, professional associations, and the Conference for Mercy Higher Education.
Act on behalf of the President as needed on academic and student life matters, including at Board of Trustees meetings and committees.
