Roanoke College
Salem, Virginia - United States
Roanoke College seeks a collaborative, entrepreneurial, and mission-driven academic leader to serve as its next Senior Vice President for Academic Life and Learning and Provost (Senior Vice President). This opportunity comes at a pivotal moment in the College's history as it advances an ambitious transformation designed to strengthen its liberal arts foundation while expanding its reach through graduate education, workforce-aligned programming, and the launch of the new School of Health Science and Health Innovation. The next Senior Vice President will join a community that has already undertaken significant institutional realignment and is now poised to accelerate growth, innovation, and regional impact.
Roanoke College is an independent, residential liberal arts college located in Salem, Virginia, minutes from the Blue Ridge Mountains and the city of Roanoke. Founded in 1842 by Lutheran pastors, the College has a long history of expanding educational access, serving its region, and preparing students for lives of learning, service, and leadership. The College’s mission is to develop students as whole persons and prepare them for responsible lives of learning, service, and leadership by promoting their intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and personal growth. Its current vision is to champion potential by providing essential learning and leadership through leading-edge academic programs and transformative educational experiences, giving students the mettle, mastery, and empathy to live lives of purpose, build meaningful careers, and meet society’s most pressing needs.
Roanoke’s academic identity rests on a strong liberal arts foundation. The College’s curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, clear communication, ethical reasoning, creativity, adaptability, and the ability to address complex problems. Small classes, faculty mentorship, undergraduate research, internships, study away, service learning, and other high-impact practices have long been central features of the student experience. At the same time, Roanoke is actively reimagining how liberal education should serve learners and communities in the 21st century. Roanoke is one of 26 colleges and universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the second-oldest Lutheran-related college in America. The College honors its heritage through a commitment to faith and reason, open inquiry, civil discourse, inclusion, service, and the development of purpose-filled lives.
Working closely with President Frank Shushok Jr., the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students, and regional partners, the Senior Vice President will serve as both steward and builder, advancing academic excellence across the College while guiding the development of one of its most significant strategic initiatives in decades in the visioning and launch of the College of Health Science and Health Innovation. The successful candidate will inherit strong institutional momentum, the newly opened McConnon Discovery Center, significant Board investment in health sciences, and broad support for creating academic programs that respond to workforce needs while remaining rooted in Roanoke's mission and values.
As chief academic officer, the Senior Vice President will lead the academic implementation of the college's strategic plan, Imagine Roanoke, ensuring that curriculum, faculty work, student support systems, experiential learning opportunities, and academic innovation align with the College's strategic priorities. This leader will help translate the plan's aspirations into measurable outcomes while positioning Roanoke as a learner-centered institution that prepares students for meaningful careers, leadership, and lives of purpose. The Senior Vice President will play a key role in advancing the College's goals related to student success, academic innovation, operational excellence, belonging, and institutional distinction.
The College seeks a leader who understands the enduring value of liberal arts education and can articulate its relevance in a rapidly changing world. Equally important, this leader must be capable of building trust, strengthening communication, navigating shared governance with integrity, and bringing people together around a common vision for the future. The next Senior Vice President will play a central role in ensuring that innovation and growth reinforce, rather than diminish, the distinctive culture and educational experience that have defined Roanoke College for nearly two centuries.
This role is ideal for a leader energized by both stewardship and creation. The successful candidate will inherit a strong liberal arts institution with a clear strategic vision while also having the opportunity to design, launch, and grow an innovative health sciences initiative that has the potential to transform both the College and the region. Roanoke seeks a leader who can honor its traditions while helping shape its future.
WittKieffer is assisting Roanoke College in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by January 13, 2027. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal.
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 leadership profile. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to Jen Meyers Pickard, Ph.D., Kate Nolde, and Sarah Seavey at [email protected].
The anticipated salary range for this position is $275,000-$325,000, negotiable based upon experience.
Roanoke College values diversity in its community. Any form of discrimination, lack of respect, or act of intolerance against any person or organization based on sex, race, religion, ethnic background, or disability is in contradiction with college principles and unacceptable. Roanoke College does not discriminate against students, employees, or applicants based on race, color, gender, creed, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national or ethnic origin, disability, or veteran status.