PROSPECTUS
Associate Vice Provost
Career and Professional Success and High-Impact Practices
University of New Hampshire (UNH)
INSTITUTION OVERVIEW
Founded in 1866, the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the state’s public research university, provides comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs of distinction. Its primary purpose is learning with an 18:1 student-to-faculty ratio: students collaborating with faculty in teaching, research, creative expression and service. UNH has a national and international agenda and holds land grant, sea grant and space-grant charters. With its main campus in Durham and campuses in Manchester and Concord (UNH School of Law), the university serves New Hampshire and the region through continuing education, cooperative extension, cultural outreach, economic development activities, and applied research. UNH offers over 200-degree programs and has the following academic units: Carsey School of Public Policy; College of Engineering and Physical Sciences; College of Health and Human Services; College of Liberal Arts; College of Life Sciences and Agriculture; the Graduate School; and School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering. UNH has a total of 1,450 faculty, two-thirds of which are full-time.
UNH is distinguished by its commitment to high-quality undergraduate instruction, select excellence in graduate education, relatively small size (13,000 undergraduate and 2,400 graduate students), a location in a beautiful and culturally rich part of the seacoast of New England, and a strong sense of responsibility for this special place, a commitment to serving the public good and our emergence over the past decade as a significant research institution. UNH’s operating budget is $640 million, and its endowment (market value as of July 1, 2020) is over $235 Million. UNH has more than $120 million in funded external research, which puts UNH in the top 15 percent of universities in the United States for research and funding.
At a glance, UNH:
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Contributes $1.5 billion to New Hampshire’s economy each year;
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Is ranked first for the safest university town in the country;
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Has research instruments on more than 20 satellites orbiting the Earth;
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Has raised more than $300 million in its largest capital campaign;
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The home to the nation’s leading research center on sexual assault prevention; and
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The nation’s 3rd highest-rated university for sustainability.
STRATEGIC PLAN
Four strategic priorities are guiding UNH toward a bold, overarching aspiration – to be among the nation’s top 25 public universities in the most important measures of academic performance. President James W. Dean Jr. announced this plan in January 2019, and this website captures our ongoing progress.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Career and Professional Success (CaPS) provides strategic, innovative, and collaborative leadership to support career exploration, career decision-making and development, work-based experiences, development of workforce skills, and successful planning and transition to post-graduation employment and graduate/professional school matriculation for UNH students, both undergraduate and graduate. The Associate Vice Provost reports to the Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and develops collaborative relationships and partnerships with campus stakeholders and local, national, and international employing organizations to accomplish the CaPS mission. Further, the Associate Vice Provost leads a team of more than 20 employees and stewards fiscal and physical resources across all campuses of UNH.
The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience building collaborative relationships with academic departments and colleges to support career exploration, professional development, and first-destination and lifelong career success for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, demonstrated experience building relationships with employers on behalf of students, knowledge of strategic planning and data-informed decision-making, fiscal management, learning assessment, and supervision, and a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are all required qualifications.
ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
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Articulate and advance the mission, priorities, and goals of CaPS for establishing career and workforce readiness with the institutional priorities of UNH.
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Elevate and realize CaPS mission and strategic goals by developing and tracking annual goals in partnership with campus stakeholders.
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Foster strategic employer partnerships that grow and support robust employer-student connections, internships, and career opportunities.
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Develop metrics and assessments to track focused on student engagement, high-impact practices, and career outcomes; create communication strategies sharing metrics and key data for internal and external stakeholders.
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Expand and support internship and experiential learning opportunities for students; increase student engagement with internships through collaborative partnerships with faculty, staff, employers, and alumni.
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Collaborate and partner with campus stakeholders on an integrated approach to academic advising, career advising, and student success.
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Build robust and collaborative relationships with academic leadership and upper administration to achieve the goals of the CaPS office.
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Supervise and own the performance and contributions of a 23-person professional staff within the Career and Professional Success office; lead the team in further scaling and weaving career success into the fabric of the UNH campus.
Minimum Education and Experience
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Master’s degree.
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7-10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in both industry and higher education – career-related.
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Demonstrated success in collaborative leadership and building strong relationships within the department and across an institution.
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Experience managing teams, including hiring, developing, evaluating, and retaining high-performing professional teams.
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Experience with strategic planning, budget management, and fundraising.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
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Collaborate, influence, educate, and inspire colleagues and stakeholders to create institutional support and high-performing teams.
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Navigate and lead change and new initiatives through innovation and creativity.
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Experience with strategic planning, budget management, and fundraising.
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Engage campus internal and external stakeholders through effective, audience-focused communication (both written and oral).
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Define and set strategy for the CaPS team.
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Use and interpret data to inform and drive strategic targets and goals.
About Career and Professional Success (CaPS)
With an uncommon commitment to personal and professional development, Career and Professional Success (CaPS) empowers all UNH students to proactively build the knowledge and skills they need to adapt and succeed in an ever-changing future.
Wildcats consistently impress with a belief in themselves, commitment to a set of values, dedication to hard work, agility to hit the ground running, and a responsibility to share their success with the next generation of students.
We are coaches, connectors, and champions for our students and alumni. We don’t just fix resumes, post jobs, and practice interviews. In partnership with faculty, staff, employers, and our global alumni network, we orchestrate opportunities for experiential learning, mentoring, networking, and personal growth, equipping UNH students with the tools to thrive throughout their lives.
Mission
Imbue career preparedness across the entire UNH community to equip our students with the experiences, knowledge, and skills to thrive in an ever-changing future.
Strategic Objectives
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Partner with faculty and staff to integrate career and professional success into the UNH experience.
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Consider the broad spectrum of students to effectively deliver the highest level of impact.
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Actively engage a variety of employers to increase access to high-quality jobs and internships.
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Prepare students to proactively engage in their post-graduate success.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Katherine (Kate) S. Ziemer, Ph.D.
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Katherine S. Ziemer (Kate) is the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of New Hampshire. Her responsibilities include cross-college academic programs and curricula (e.g., Honors, ROTC, Discovery, High Impact Practices), faculty development, teaching excellence and innovation, student academic supports, global education, career and professional success services, and cross-USNH collaborations.
Dr. Ziemer holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, but began her career in 1989 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering working for DuPont in Victoria, Texas. After seven years in industry, she returned to academia to earn her Ph.D. at West Virginia University through the study of nano-materials. Dr. Ziemer credits her experience at DuPont with providing a breadth of experience that enables her to translate vision into practical actions that bring results in a complex environment, while remaining agile to changing external forces. She began her independent academic career at Northeastern University in Boston, MA in 2001. Dr. Ziemer successfully established a research and teaching career and became a full professor in 2015. Shortly thereafter, she joined the provost’s office at Northeastern University where she was mostly involved in innovative undergraduate educational initiatives. Dr. Ziemer’s vision for higher education is founded in the ever-expanding, research-based understanding of how people learn, is informed by the interdependent needs of the global human condition, and is built on the conviction that education is essential to a thriving and inclusive society.
Wayne E. Jones Jr.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Chemistry and Materials
Wayne E. Jones Jr. is provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of chemistry and materials at the University of New Hampshire. He moved to the University of New Hampshire in 2017 to serve as the dean of engineering and physical sciences. Prior to joining UNH, Dr. Jones was professor and chair in the department of chemistry at Binghamton University, State University of New York (SUNY) where he served in numerous leadership roles including founding director of Center for Learning and Teaching and interim dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences.
An inorganic chemist and materials scientist, Dr. Jones earned a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Michael’s College and a Doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed post-doctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin before joining the faculty at Binghamton in 1993. His research involves the study of photo-induced electron and energy transfer processes in inorganic and polymer systems with specific research interests in polymer sensors, photovoltaics and electronic nanomaterials. He has authored more than 150 publications and articles and holds eight patents. His work has been supported by over $14 million in federal research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Defense, and industrial partners.
In 2015, Dr. Jones co-founded Chromananotech LLC, a startup company producing optical nanomaterials patented from his university research lab for use in energy, biomedical and defense related applications. His awards include the SUNY Chancellors Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative activities in 2017, Fellow status in the American Chemical Society, and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2001.
