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Colorado School of Mines

Provost, Colorado School Of Mines

Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, United States, 80401


Engineering a world of possibilities Apply via email at provostsearch@mines.edu.

The Opportunity

Colorado School of Mines (Mines) invites applications and nominations for its next Provost - its senior leader responsible for shaping the faculty, students, and academic programsso that Mines continues to: a) excel in its mission of educating, innovating, and inspiring to produce the talent, knowledge, and innovations that industry and society need for prosperity, and b) advance toward its aspiration of being a top-of-mind and first-choice university for students, faculty, and external partners.

The Context

Colorado School of Mines is currently celebrating 150 years of impact on the world. About eight years ago, with this historic point in the university's history in mind, the university embarked on its aggressive MINES@150 strategic plan and associated Campaign for MINES@150. The actions and investments made under this plan have been focused on positioning Mines for success in what was anticipated to be a highly disruptive and much more competitive future for higher education. Mines leveraged its size, location, unique expertise, industry and government partnerships and passionate alumni base, and built on its history of producing distinctive industry-ready graduates. Some notable MINES@150 accomplishments include an expanded and more relevant portfolio of academic programs, adding business acumen and a deeper awareness of challenges facing society and industry to its core education, doubling-down on hands-on learning and professional development, launching an entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, achieving R1 status, significantly expanding the facilities that support its mission, and hiring over 150 new full-time faculty.

The university is engagingin discussions on where to focus its efforts for the next five years. While those will be evolving as this search proceeds, it can be anticipated that its strategic initiatives will be anchored to Mines' "top-of-mind/first-choice" aspiration, focus on student success, pursuit of differentiation, distinction and a sustainable business model, and the ever-evolving alignment to the needs of industry and society. Being an exemplar university for alumni engagement and affinity is also a key goal relevant to the next Provost's efforts.

Today, Mines' community includes about 8000 students (6200 undergraduates, 1800 graduate students), about 350 full-time tenured, tenure-track, teaching and professor-of-practice faculty, more than 1000 other full-time employees dedicated to Mines unique mission, and more than 30,000 alumni. For the next five years, Mines expects to manage its undergraduate population at about its current size and quality, and seeks to increase to about 2500 graduate students, mostly through growth in non-thesis master's and certificate programs.

Mines' Next Provost

Mines' next Provost will need to be an innovative, agile, and effective leader who can successfully conceive and drive initiatives that are strategically important to Mines' future. Consistent with the discussion above, some of those will have to address the following:

Growing the number of non-thesis master's and certificate students enrolled at Mines

Increasing the number of qualified applicants at all degree levels and from all backgrounds, so that Mines' student population is reflective of the population it serves,

Improving student success metrics (e.g., retention, persistence, time to graduation, student debt, career outcomes)

Shaping the faculty and its expertise to deliver on Mines education mission, position the university to pursue and lead research and innovation in key areas that are important to industry and society, and advance Mines on its path to differentiation and distinction.

Adjusting to disruptors (e.g., AI) in a way that furthers Mines mission and differentiation

Ensuring equitable contributions from all faculty to Mines' mission, and cost-effective use of all other resources dedicated to Mines' education, discovery, and innovation efforts

Pursuing opportunities for revenue generation from non-tuition sources

Exploring and testing options for more scalable and effective learning

Building the bench of academic leaders at Mines

Promoting excellence

To accomplish these and other strategic goals, the next Provost will need to work effectively and collaboratively with the President, members of the President's Executive Team, and other university leaders. The next Provost will also need to be engaged with students and faculty. Effective communication, being pragmatic and strategic, and understanding the business of Mines will be critical to success.

Organizational Location and Responsibilities

The Provost reports directly to Mines' President and works in close collaboration with other members of the President's Executive Cabinet. At a more granular level and in addition to strategic initiatives, the Provost's Office leads student recruitment, retention, and graduation,