Associate Provost and Director of Armacost Library & Learning Commons

Description

The University of Redlands seeks an Associate Provost and Director of the Armacost Library & Learning Commons.

Click here to view position profile: https://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Assoc-Provost-and-Director-Armacost-Library-Learning-Commons.pdf

Location: Redlands, CA

The Position:

University of Redlands invites applications and nominations for the position of Associate Provost and Director of the Armacost Library & Learning Commons. The Associate Provost/Director of the Library reports to the Provost, is responsible for Library budgetary, personnel, and supporting faculty librarians in curricular matters, and provides leadership and vision in fulfilling the mission and goals of the Library and University.

 Responsibilities:

• Works within a participatory faculty governance structure and fosters close working relationships with and among all constituents of the Library, the University, and the broader community.
• Collaboratively defines and implements planning for the development and continuous improvement of Library and information programs and services.
• Contributes to continued planning and co-creating of a learning commons (and future renovation).
• Advocates for, and supports, all library employees (faculty, staff, student workers).
• Actively contributes to University-wide conversations about student learning and student success.
• Raises attention to, interest in, and funding and support for library initiatives.
• Fosters transparency, inclusivity, and collaborative work at all levels, including vision, goals and objectives, policies, and workflows.
• Shares responsibility for initiating, planning, coordinating, and evaluating library and information policies and programs for the achievement of the Library and University’s missions and visions.
• Manages and provides oversight of shared decisions regarding expenditures within established budgetary constraints, with a critical understanding that library budgets can reflect institutional values, which may be in tension with emerging roles for libraries.
• Guides efforts to appraise, describe, and integrate into curriculum special collections and government publications.
• Serves on a variety of University-wide governance committees, including as ex-officio member of the Committee on Academic Planning and Standards (CAPS) and the President’s Cabinet.
• Serves as a contributing member of the Provost Council and Academic Affairs Division leadership team.
• Contributes to the development and fundraising initiatives in partnership with the University Advancement and Development offices.
• Actively participates in internal and external groups, and consortia, to improve regional access and services and broaden support for University of Redlands constituents.
• Engages in professional, research, and scholarly activity.

Challenges and Opportunities:

The new Associate Provost/Director will engage with a wide range of stakeholders on- and off-campus as a champion for the Library as well as the University community. The new Associate Provost/Director will be well-positioned to address the following:

• Learning Commons – In partnership with a range of academic programs, find creative ways to use, expand, and improve existing facilities in the short term and plan for more significant renovations in the future. Be prepared to address issues of space allocation, renovation, and repurposing to accommodate new uses and needs of students and for faculty teaching practices. The learning commons is more than a physical space, thus the Associate Provost/Director will establish new and foster existing relationships with other academic programs and units to benefit students, staff, faculty, and community members.
• Equity and Inclusivity – Lead the Library in its role of fulfilling the educational mission of the University and provide educational and cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. The Associate Provost/ Director will lead efforts in addressing the needs of on-campus as well as off-campus students and faculty. They will commit to enhancing outreach, programming, and resources for all, with a particular emphasis on welcoming and providing equitable services to members of groups who are currently and/or historically marginalized.
• Library Advocacy – Advocate on behalf of the Library, those who work in the Library, and for those the Library serves. They will be a visible leader within the University community, engaging stakeholders and showcasing existing programs and resources while soliciting input on new programmatic opportunities.
• Fundraising – Partner with University Advancement professionals to increase philanthropic support from foundations and individual donors. They will support and/or lead grant proposals that may expand the Library’s ability to support Library curricular development, programming, resources, services, and new initiatives.
• Organizational Culture and Morale – Continue to build a culture of openness, integrity, and accountability among those who work in the Library and cultivate an environment in which we find joy and meaning in our work with each other and with our communities..
• Defining the Library – Lead collaborative discussions and new ways of thinking about libraries and the role of the Library within the University and the community. Play a key role in guiding the University and community stakeholders in understanding the expanding roles of those who work in libraries (negotiating and managing licenses for e-resources; developing and managing publishing platforms; advocating for and educating on new scholarly communication practices; conducting instructional design; writing and implementing code and scripts; etc.) in order to translate ideas into actions, set achievable goals, and maintain accountability for reaching or revising them.

Required Qualifications:

• An ALA accredited MLIS degree or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience managing staff and faculty within the operations of a unit, including demonstrated engagement with complex issues, problem solving, and project leadership.
• Demonstrated commitment to creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive work and learning environment.
• A record of professional and scholarly activity commensurate for appointment at the rank of associate or full librarian.
• Demonstrated commitment to the educational role of academic libraries.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to work with a diverse group of faculty, students, administrators, staff and the general public; ability and skill in team-building, fostering healthy communication practices, and collaboration across departments and units.
• Demonstrated interest in or engagement with social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion issues, through professional or community experience.
• Knowledgeable of evolving scholarly communications practices and issues: open access, open educational resources, open scholarly infrastructure, and other opportunities and threats on the horizon.
• Familiar with critical perspectives on library practices.
• Understanding students’ needs for multi-campus locations and online learning.
• Familiarity with trends in library budget management; for example, relating to institutional support, technology, purchasing and licensing, or library programming.

About the Institution:

The University of Redlands is a private, nonprofit university that connects students to a world of opportunity, geared toward their passions and potential. Centrally located near the beaches, mountains, and desert in the heart of Southern California, the University offers more than 40 undergraduate programs, as well as 30 graduate programs in business, communication sciences and disorders, education, geographic information systems, and music—blending liberal arts and professional programs, applied and theoretical study, traditional majors and self-designed curricula. In addition to an award-winning 160-acre campus in Redlands featuring orange groves, architectural landmarks and more than 1,700 trees, the University includes seven regional locations, providing innovative programs at convenient places and times for working professionals. Surveys show that generations of alumni have found that the University, established in 1907, prepared them well for career success and lifelong learning. A commuter rail connecting downtown Los Angeles to the Redlands campus will be complete in 2020.

Transformative Academics: Undergraduates in the College of Arts & Sciences may choose from more than 40 academic majors. They also may create their own self-directed majors in the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies—where studies are multidisciplinary; curriculum and majors are by contract; and evaluations are by narrative.

Students enjoy small class sizes and an undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 12 to 1. At the heart of the Redlands experience is the belief that education should be highly personalized, relevant, and interdisciplinary. Examples of many stellar undergraduate academic programs include:

• Business Administration—known for its acclaimed global business program and international Fulbright Scholars and students.
• Creative Writing—students learn from accomplished professors; showcase their work in a student-run literary magazine; and benefit from the Visiting Writers Series that brings nationally recognized writers to campus.
• Environmental Studies—distinctive for opportunities of study in its state-of the- art learning facility and in classrooms around the world.
• Psychology—exemplary for sending graduates on to careers in law, medicine, education, social work and research.
• Center for Science and Mathematics—an assemblage of excellent undergraduate programs in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science.

Redlands also offers graduate programs through the College of Arts & Sciences, including:

• Master of Science in Geographic Information Science—a one-year residential program at the Redlands campus.
• Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders— one of the leading training programs in the nation.
• Master of Music—in conducting, composition, music education, performance, and vocal chamber music.

The graduate and professional programs at the University serve about the same number of students as the College and offer a broad scope of study for undergraduates, graduates, and working professionals. The School of Education is one of the few professional programs in the nation to offer a Doctorate in Leadership for Educational Justice, and it also offers the innovative Spatial Literacy Program for educators and recently added a Special Education Credential program. The School of Business offers master’s degrees in business administration, management, and information technology. Students have an opportunity to participate in international study abroad programs. The School of Continuing Studies programs support lifelong learning and offer busy professionals an opportunity to further their education through workshops, certificate programs, and customized training.

The University of Redlands is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The University also holds specialized program accreditations in chemistry by the American Chemical Society, in music by the National Association of Schools of Music, in communication sciences and disorders by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, in School of Business by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, and in education by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

 About the Library:

The Armacost Library plays an integral role in the intellectual and cultural life of the University of Redlands by facilitating the transformation of information into knowledge. Faculty and staff of the Library aspire to provide equitable access to information and support for academic success, promote reflective scholarship and engagement with the diversity of knowledge, foster lifelong learning, and collaborate to leverage the work and collections for social good in the surrounding communities.

The Library is a medium-sized library with a talented staff. The Library provides both open and cozy spaces for quiet study, tutoring, group work, and music composition, along with more than 30 computer workstations. Exhibits showcase student work, campus history, cultural events, and more. In addition to serving as a federal repository library, housing a significant collection of US government publications and maps, Armacost Library’s curriculum-focused collections include more than 800,000 books, periodicals, CDs, videos, DVDs, music scores, archival documents, microforms, e-books, streaming video, and open access resources. Special collections housed in the Library include the Farquhar Collection of California and the Greater Southwest, the MacNair Far Eastern Collection, the Irvine Map Library, the Hawaii-Pacific Collection, and the Barney Childs Collection.

The Library has been awarding the Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award since 2009; it established a publishing platform, InSPIRe@Redlands, in 2013 to preserve and share scholarship produced by the University of Redlands community; and it entered into a partnership with Campus Diversity and Inclusion in 2017, to facilitate a textbook-lending program for students with demonstrated financial need. In 2017 Library personnel successfully migrated their ILS from Millennium to ExLibris Alma/Primo, after more than 20 years with Innovative. The migration project was truly a team effort, with every person in the Library contributing to planning and implementing.

 The Library’s current priority is to embody core professional values in its practice, including:

• Advocating and promoting the principles of open access to scholarship, open educational resources, and open infrastructures;
• Modernizing the Library’s systems and technological infrastructure, as well as growing its capacity to adapt infrastructure to its needs;
• Deepening its teaching partnerships with faculty across the curriculum and with units developing/offering co-curricular programming;
• Collaborating with faculty, staff, and administrators in the Academic Affairs unit to realize the vision of a Learning Commons;
• Cultivating a culture committed to collaborative and transparent decision making, coordination between the Library’s functional areas, and accountability and appreciation.

To Apply:

Confidential review of applications and nominations will begin immediately. While applications and nominations will be accepted until the position is filled, interested parties are encouraged to apply by January 27, 2019. Applicants should submit: (a) a curriculum vitae; (b) a cover letter that responds to the position criteria and also provides a brief statement addressing philosophy of librarianship and leadership, evidence of successful practice, and strengths and experiences with respect to demonstrated commitment to social and diversity inclusion; and (c) a sample of scholarly writing.

To apply online, go to: https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su128

For more information or to make nominations:

Stephanie Fowler
Senior Consultant
Summit Search Solutions, Inc.
530-677-9945
sfowler@summitsearchsolutions.com

Submission of a resume and application indicates agreement that the University may verify all information contained therein. The University of Redlands is an equal opportunity employer. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if selected for the interview process and accommodations are needed, please call 909-748-8040.