Executive Vice President and Provost

Virginia Commonwealth University seeks an inaugural Executive Vice President and Provost (Provost).

Reporting to the president, the Executive Vice President and Provost serves as the university's chief academic officer with oversight of the core university functions, including academic affairs, faculty affairs, student affairs, strategic enrollment management, and student success. The provost is the second-ranking executive officer at VCU and serves as the president's partner in the articulation and execution of a compelling vision that builds on a history of excellence and access in higher education and further propels VCU's upward trajectory of impactful, interdisciplinary research and innovation.

The provost partners closely with the president, the senior vice president for Finance and Administration and CFO, the senior vice president for Health Sciences and CEO of the VCU Health System, and other executive officers of the university in formulating the goals, priorities, and policies of the institution. They will be a compelling leader ready to meet VCU's aspirations, lead our exceptional academic leadership team, and champion success and opportunity as a catalyst for institutional excellence and societal progress. The provost works closely with the deans of VCU's 17 colleges, schools, and libraries to oversee and support their objectives and operations related to faculty affairs, research, scholarship, and teaching, and facilitates collaborative efforts between the schools to support institutional priorities. Additionally, the provost oversees the vice president for strategic enrollment management and student success, the vice president for student affairs, the senior vice provost for academic affairs, the senior vice provost for faculty affairs, the senior vice provost for academic administration and operations, the vice provost for global initiatives, the vice provost for innovation and strategic design, the associate vice provost for institutional research and decision support, the vice provost for community engagement and the executive assistant to the provost.

Located in the capital city of Richmond, Virginia, VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College; it became the Medical College of Virginia just shy of two decades later and merged with the Richmond Professional Institute in 1968 to create its current identity as a top 50 National Science Foundation public research university and health system. VCU provides unparalleled access for its students while producing ground-breaking research across all its disciplines. With a record $560 million in sponsored research funding in FY2025, VCU is a member of and oversees national research consortia while also providing an exceptional undergraduate experience with a commitment to access. VCU has a total enrollment of more than 29,000 students and is currently experiencing annual growth. It employs more than 26,000 faculty and staff across its college campus and health system.

The most successful candidates will have the skills and experiences that enable them to provide innovative and collaborative leadership to advance an engaged and rising university whose core mission is to serve, along with its academic health sciences center, as one national urban public research institution committed to the success and well-being of its students, patients, faculty, staff, and community. The ideal candidate will be a highly accomplished academic leader, hold an earned terminal degree, and bring a distinguished academic record that merits appointment as a tenured full professor at VCU. In addition, the individual must have significant administrative experience appropriate to the size and complexity of VCU. Preferably, candidates will have an understanding of the health sciences in a large academic medical center.

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 .

WittKieffer is assisting Virginia Commonwealth University in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by February 9, 2026.

Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer's candidate portal .

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to :

Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D., Sandra Chu, and Julia Bradley

VCUProvost@wittkieffer.com

The material presented in this position specification should be relied on for informational purposes only. This material has been copied, compiled or quoted in part from VCU documents and personal interviews and is believed to be reliable. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, the original source documents and factual situations govern.

Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to providing accessible and equitable living, learning and working environments free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), political affiliation, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or disability.

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