Occidental College (Oxy), an urban liberal arts institution grounded in the values of academic excellence, equity and service seeks a visionary, dynamic leader and collaborative campus partner to serve as the Vice President of Community and Equity.
It is an exciting time to be at Occidental. Guided by its integrated strategic plan, The Occidental Promise, the College seeks to be the principal destination for a distinctive urban liberal arts experience. Oxy also welcomed President Tom Stritikus who began his tenure as the 17th president of the College on July 1, 2024. A strategic thought partner to the president, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees, the Vice President of Community and Equity (VPCE) will be a significant institution-wide leader and critical member of a highly collaborative and collegial leadership team that is advancing the College’s mission and strategic direction with pace and purpose.
Situated on a 120-acre residential campus in the heart of global Los Angeles, Occidental’s location serves as a springboard for putting theory into practice and ideas into action. The distinctive interdisciplinary and multicultural focus of the College’s academic program seeks to foster both the fulfillment of individual aspirations and a deeply rooted commitment to the public good. Underscoring the potential of this immersive liberal arts education is a mission that calls on every member of the community to focus on what matters most, a culture of care that requires intentionality and collective resolve while being attuned and adapting to a changing world.
Inspired and enhanced by its distinctive and transformative Los Angeles community surrounding campus, the College aims to reflect and engage with the rich cultural and social resources of its hometown. Occidental was one of the first liberal arts colleges selected as community engagement institutions by the Carnegie Foundation. In fact, the College’s history of community partnerships dates to the mid-1960s, when the Oxy opened its Community Literacy Center and one of the country’s first Upward Bound programs. Today, half of Occidental’s students participate in some kind of community project, most through the College’s Center for Community Based Learning and Partnership for Community Engagement. These efforts include partnerships with elementary, middle, and high schools in northeast Los Angeles.
Excellence and equity are not new concepts for Occidental. When he became president in 1988, John Slaughter embraced “the ideal of the mutuality that exists between excellence and equity.” During his inaugural address, he declared “quality and equality are inseparable and diversity is synonymous with what is best in America,” and a year later, he launched a new strategic plan – Of Excellence and Equity. Those efforts planted the seed for Oxy to become one of the most economically diverse colleges, with a student body population where over half of the students identify as domestic students of color or international. Since 1990, Occidental students and alumni have won more than 290 major scholarships and fellowships, including Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Fulbright, CORO and Goldwater scholarships. Occidental is one of the country’s top producers of Fulbright scholars and students who go on to receive Ph.Ds.
The VPCE will have the opportunity to develop and implement a strategic framework for equity while building community and promoting dialogue in collaboration with colleagues who are engaged in this work and sustaining an inclusive and accessible learning environment for the entire Oxy community. The VPCE will be expected to lift all forms of diversity and help create arenas of discourse without demanding conformity and consensus for this invested community of students, staff, faculty, college leadership, alumni and Board of Trustees.
The ideal candidate will bring a depth of experience in and a broad understanding of equity and pluralism and have a proven record of innovative applications of emerging scholarship and practices to achieve organizational aspirations. The VPCE will be a deeply relational leader, adept at building collaborative partnerships on campus and in the broader community of Los Angeles. An understanding of the higher education environment, appreciation of shared governance, a commitment to the liberal arts, and a student-centered approach for academic success are essential. Equally important will be a willingness to be present for a community and its people; ability to listen with empathy and concern; and an aptitude for harnessing data to inform analysis, assess programs and processes, develop goals and metrics, drive strategy, and hold the institution accountable for progress.
All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the profile.
WittKieffer is assisting Occidental College in this search. The review of candidate materials has begun and will continue until an appointment has been made.
Application materials, nominations and inquiries can be directed to:
The anticipated compensation range for this position is between $200,000 and $230,000 annually.
Occidental is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, breastfeeding or related medical condition, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristic or information, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. Occidental is strongly committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community and the curriculum, and to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and just environment within which students, staff, administrators, and faculty thrive. Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. A comprehensive benefits package is available that includes: excellent health, dental, life, and retirement benefits; tuition benefits for the employee, spouse, domestic partner, and dependents; additional perks including use of gym facilities and the College Library. For a detailed description of benefits, please visit https://www.oxy.edu/offices-services/human-resources/benefits-information.
All qualified applicants will be considered for employment, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. Occidental College will work with and provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with qualifying disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the application or employment process, please contact Human Resources ([email protected]). As a condition of hire for a staff position and for appointment to a faculty position, Occidental College requires that all candidates who have received a conditional offer of employment complete an application form (if they have not already done so) and consent to a background check. Satisfactory completion of a background check, along with pre-employment verifications and references are required as a condition of employment, but only as permitted by federal, state, and local law.