Vice President of Student Life

Lipscomb University seeks a Vice President of Student Life who will envision the future for Lipscomb's highly committed and professional student life team and lead them toward greater service. He or she will provide mentorship for leaders managing major units in the Student Life division: Student Engagement, University Counseling Center,
Housing and Residence Life, Student Success & Wellbeing, Veteran Services, and Spiritual Formation. He or she will serve as the chief student-personnel officer of the University and advise the President and Executive Leadership Team on all matters pertaining to non-academic student life and continue to develop student flourishing at Lipscomb.

The next Vice President of Student Life will work collaboratively across the campus to bolster the student experience and support spiritual growth and discipleship. With a leadership style that is highly relational, humble, strategic, and collaborative, he or she will be a compelling advocate and thought leader for Student Life throughout the Lipscomb community.

Responsibilities:

Leadership and Strategy

• Serve as a member of the University's senior leadership team, contributing to overall strategic planning and decision-making while working collaboratively with other divisions and senior leadership team members.
• Support and assist Lipscomb's President by providing regular reports, developing recommendations for approval of the President and action by the Lipscomb Board of Trustees, and completing other tasks and duties as assigned.
• Be an ambassador on behalf of Lipscomb University and foster positive relations for the university by communicating and interacting with community leaders in matters related to Lipscomb and the student experience.
• Provide strategic leadership tied to Lipscomb Impact 360 goals connected to student flourishing.

Staff Support and Development

• Manage the achievement of student life goals by developing and executing on division plans and multi-year goals that support Lipscomb Impact 360.
• Develop and maintain a properly coordinated delivery of essential student services by organizing the various units and sub-units in a logical, non-duplicative, and effective manner to best meet the division's work requirements.
• Support the division's overall success by participating in appropriate funding activities coordinated with the Office of Advancement and serving on university committees.
• Provide mentorship, career development opportunities, and succession planning as appropriate throughout the division of Student Life.

Student Development and Engagement

• Oversee programs and services that promote student engagement, leadership development, and community building within a Christ-centered mission and framework.
• Collaborate with academic departments to support student retention and success initiatives.
• Facilitate a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with and support those of other cultures or backgrounds.

Spiritual Life

• Partner with the campus ministry team to develop and implement programs that foster spiritual growth and discipleship among students.
• Encourage a campus culture that promotes Christian values, ethics, and behavior.
• Ensure that all student life programs integrate faith and learning, supporting students' spiritual development.

Student Support and Well-being

• Oversee student services, including counseling, health services, and student conduct, ensuring they provide comprehensive support for student well-being.
• Develop and enforce policies that promote a safe and inclusive campus environment.
• Assure the prompt and effective delivery of student services by monitoring workloads throughout the division and prioritizing staffing needs accordingly.
• Promote positive student relations by maintaining effective lines of communication with student leaders and serving as a strong advocate for the non-academic, extra-curricular, and co-curricular needs of students.

Community Building

• Promote a vibrant campus life by supporting student organizations, activities, and events that enhance the student experience.
• Foster a sense of community and belonging among a diverse student body, encouraging respect, and understanding.
• Serve as a key member of the Campus Assessment and Response Team (CARE) team.
• Encourage high morale and quality student service through a leadership style which causes employees to strive for the achievement of annually established goals and objectives.

Budget and Resource Management

• Manage the student life budget, ensuring effective allocation of resources to support strategic priorities.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for external funding to support student life initiatives.
• Ensure divisional compliance with the institutional mission by reviewing and approving unit plans, goals and objectives, and service activities.
• Enable division employees to perform their assigned tasks by coordinating the annual budget and making budget adjustments within the division to achieve
  division goals within the assigned budget.

Attributes:

• Vibrant Christian faith: The next Vice President should express a mature Christian faith, an appreciation for the Church of Christ, and fully align with Lipscomb's statement of faith and Centering Core.
• Visionary: He or she will have a vision for the future of Student Life and lead a team of highly committed and highly professional staff toward greater service.
• Inspirational, relational, and humble: The next Vice President should have personal charisma and a leadership style that is highly relational, humble, strategic, and collaborative.
• Empowering and student focused: He or she will work collaboratively across the campus to bolster the student experience and success. This leader will cultivate and empower the staff to focus on and have a heart for the success of both undergraduate and graduate students.
• Experienced in student life: Given the complexity of student affairs, a leader with student affairs experience and a grasp of current cultural trends is highly desirable. He or she will be able to envision opportunities for the division of Student Life and coach a highly committed and talented student life leadership team.
• Respected advocate, ambassador and partner: He or she should be a compelling communicator who can represent the university and the student life work internally and externally. He or she should be able to relate to the students, staff, faculty, and leadership teams, and serve as a student life advocate and partner with the President and Board and throughout the Lipscomb community.

Qualifications:

• Education: A master's degree is required; doctoral degree is preferred.
• Experience: He or she will have evidence of progressively responsible administrative experience in higher education in significant positions, preferably in student affairs/student development or a related area or discipline. Additionally, the next Vice President will remain competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses as required.
• Church Relationship: This leader will be a professing Christian who aligns with Lipscomb's Statement of Faith and Centering Core and be an active, faithful member of a congregation of the Churches of Christ or another theologically aligned evangelical church.