Job description

Office of the Provost, Rose Hill

Fordham University

Fordham University has an excellent reputation as a dynamic institution located in New York City. Founded in 1841, Fordham enrolls more than 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students in its 9 Colleges and Schools.

• Fordham University offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package to its employees, which includes medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
• We offer tuition remission for employees and their dependents
• A generous employer match towards a 403(b) retirement plan.
• As a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Fordham is considered a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, a federal program designed to forgive student loan debt for employees of certain public and certain nonprofit employers.
• As part of its work-life balance program, the University provides generous PTO including 15 vacation days, 12 sick days, 4 personal days, 6 summer Fridays, and holidays that include paid time off between Christmas and New year.
• University employees have access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP provides no-cost, professional, and confidential services, to help employees and family members address a variety of personal, family, life, and work-related issues.

Position Summary

Fordham University invites nominations and applications for the position of provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. As the University’s chief academic officer, the provost is responsible for advancing Fordham’s academic mission, supporting faculty and student success, and ensuring that the values of scholarly excellence, ethical inquiry, and service remain central to its Catholic, Jesuit identity. As the Jesuit University of New York, Fordham draws strength from a centuries-old tradition of education and from its home in one of the world’s most dynamic cities, creating a platform where mission, scholarship, and global engagement come together to shape lives of purpose.

Founded in 1841 and entrusted to the Jesuits in 1846, Fordham serves approximately 17,000 students across its campuses at Rose Hill in the Bronx, Lincoln Center in Manhattan, Westchester, and London, as well as through a growing array of online programs. A Carnegie-classified R2 research university, Fordham offers more than 200 undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across eight schools and colleges. The University has about 750 full-time instructional faculty and approximately 8,000 employees, operates with an annual budget of about $770 million, and is supported by an endowment that exceeds $1 billion. With academic strengths in the liberal arts, business, law, education, and social service, and with growing investment in emerging fields such as health and STEM, Fordham prepares graduates who are both intellectually accomplished and deeply committed to lives of purpose, leadership, and service. Its Jesuit identity animates this mission, combining rigorous inquiry with a steadfast dedication to justice, human dignity, and care of the whole person.

Under the leadership of President Tania Tetlow, the first layperson and first woman to serve as Fordham’s president, the University has launched a strategic plan focused on student outcomes, research excellence, and community. Current initiatives include a new STEM center at Rose Hill to drive leadership in AI and data science; a student success initiative integrating advising, career services, and retention with an internship promise initiative for undergraduates; and expanded graduate and professional offerings through flexible, hybrid models. Fordham is also building partnerships with Einstein College of Medicine, IBM, Meta, and cultural institutions near Lincoln Center to create new pathways in healthcare, technology, and the arts.

This is a moment of institutional momentum and change, and the provost will play a central role in shaping Fordham’s future – one rooted in tradition, responsive to contemporary challenges, and committed to the common good.

Essential Functions

The provost works in close partnership with the president and senior leadership, including the senior vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer. The role involves aligning academic and financial priorities, fostering innovation in teaching and research, expanding interdisciplinary and STEM programs, and ensuring that students remain at the center of an academic enterprise grounded in Jesuit values. The provost oversees a broad portfolio that includes academic affairs, faculty affairs, curriculum and program development, graduate and professional education, student success, accreditation, global engagement, and research strategy. The new provost will also build on the strengths of a talented academic division, empowering its leaders and teams to drive innovation, deepen collaboration, and advance a shared sense of purpose across the University.

Related Documents: https://wittkieffer.com/positions/201525

Essential Functions Note

This list is not intended to be an exhaustive list.

The University may assign additional related duties as necessary.

Management Responsibilities

Provides strategic leadership and supervises others who supervise. Responsible for hiring, training, developing, managing performance, administering corrective action, makes compensation decisions and for managing strategic views at a high level.

Additional Functions

• The provost and senior vice president for academic affairs is Fordham’s chief academic officer and a senior member of the president’s cabinet, responsible for the vitality, integrity, and direction of the University’s academic enterprise. Reporting to the president, the provost provides intellectual and administrative leadership across the University and plays a central role in advancing Fordham’s Catholic, Jesuit mission.
• Overseeing a diverse and complex academic enterprise that includes eight schools and colleges located across its campuses at Rose Hill, Lincoln Center, Westchester, London, and online, the provost works in close partnership with deans, faculty, and University leaders to sustain the quality, relevance, and impact of academic programs. The provost supports the recruitment, development, and retention of outstanding faculty, drives innovation in curriculum and pedagogy, and nurtures a culture of inclusive academic excellence that reflects Fordham’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and the formation of the whole person. This requires a leader whose presence is felt across the University, visible and approachable in academic and community settings, and able to contribute their best to Fordham’s future.
• The provost’s portfolio encompasses all areas of academic affairs, including curriculum development, academic budgeting, faculty affairs, institutional research and effectiveness, global engagement, and academic support services. As a key partner to the president and to the CFO, the provost plays a leading role in setting academic priorities, aligning resources with mission-driven goals, and shaping the academic dimensions of Fordham’s next comprehensive campaign.
• A strong convener of faculty and university leadership, the provost upholds shared governance, advances transparent and strategic decision-making, and encourages collaboration across schools and administrative units. At a time of rapid change and opportunity, the provost will help guide institutional transformation in ways that strengthen academic distinction, expand partnerships with industry and community organizations, and ensure that Fordham remains responsive to evolving student and workforce needs.
• The provost also serves as Fordham’s academic ambassador, representing the University to external partners, donors, peer institutions, Jesuit colleagues across the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), and civic leaders, while helping to amplify Fordham’s presence in local, national, and global conversations on higher education. As the University expands its work in STEM, exploring new applications such as AI in the curriculum, as well as in health, business, ethics, and interdisciplinary research, the provost plays an essential role in ensuring this growth is academically rigorous, ethically grounded, and mission aligned.

Required Qualifications: Education and Experience

Academic Stature and Credentials

• An earned doctorate or terminal degree with a record of scholarly achievement warranting appointment as a tenured full professor at Fordham. The provost should be recognized as an accomplished academic leader who commands the respect of faculty across disciplines.

Commitment to Mission

• A genuine embrace of Fordham’s Jesuit, Catholic identity and values, with the ability to articulate and advance cura personalis, magis, and homines pro aliis in ways that animate academic programs, partnerships, and student formation. Candidates who do not have prior experience at Jesuit institutions should bring curiosity and a readiness to engage deeply with the tradition.

Change Leadership with Accountability

• A demonstrated ability to lead institutional transformation with courage, clarity, and diplomacy. The provost should be skilled at accelerating progress while engaging faculty and staff, building systems of accountability, and fostering a culture of trust and follow-through. A leader who can make difficult decisions with clarity, transparency, and care.

Student-Centered Mindset

• A clear commitment to placing students at the heart of academic decision-making. The provost should prioritize retention, career readiness, and holistic success, with an appreciation for the role of athletics, internships, and experiential learning in shaping student outcomes and community life.

Entrepreneurial and Data-Savvy Orientation

• Facility with data, predictive analytics, and market research to guide academic planning. The judgment to sunset programs that no longer serve students, launch offerings responsive to workforce needs, and pursue opportunities in graduate, professional, hybrid, and online education. Experience expanding capacity in STEM, healthcare, and interdisciplinary fields is a plus.

Collaborative and Collegial Leadership

• A relationship-driven leader who reflects Fordham’s collaborative cabinet culture. Someone who values authenticity, collegiality, and principled leadership, who galvanizes faculty and staff, and who integrates academic planning with enrollment, finance, advancement, and external relations around shared goals.
• Financial Acumen and Campaign Alignment Experience managing complex budgets and aligning resources with strategic priorities. The ability to partner closely with the president, the CFO, and University advancement to set academic priorities for Fordham’s campaign and communicate financial decisions and priorities with clarity and purpose. Faculty Governance and Diplomacy Skill in navigating faculty governance with patience and respect. The ability to build credibility with faculty, honor shared governance, and foster institutional trust.

Required Qualifications: Knowledge and Skills

• Fordham seeks a collaborative, mission-aligned leader of academic distinction with strategic insight and operational skill.
• The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to lead through complexity, build trust across a diverse academic community, and make principled decisions with clarity and compassion.
• External Partnerships and Engagement Capacity to cultivate partnerships with industry, healthcare, cultural institutions, and research organizations. A readiness to leverage Fordham’s locations to expand visibility and opportunity.
• Effective Communication and External Presence Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to listen deeply, speak with clarity and conviction, and inspire confidence. Comfort engaging with media, alumni, and donors, and external partners when appropriate, and the capacity to represent Fordham’s academic vision with credibility and purpose.
• Commitment to Equity, Access, and Belonging Demonstrated record of affirming the dignity of every individual and advancing Fordham’s Jesuit mission through inclusive excellence. Experience recruiting, retaining, and supporting a diverse faculty and staff, while fostering affordability, access, and belonging for students in New York City and beyond.
• Technological Fluency Knowledge of digital tools, data systems, and emerging technologies such as AI that enhance teaching, advising, and student success. Awareness of how innovation can extend Fordham’s reach and distinctiveness.
• Personal Qualities Integrity, humility, resilience, and optimism. Emotional intelligence to navigate complexity, build trust, and cultivate strong relationships across a diverse community. A leader who is visible and accessible across campuses, earns the respect of colleagues, and embodies the authenticity, humor, and care that characterize Fordham’s leadership culture
• Successful candidates should have a knowledge of and commitment to the goals of Jesuit Education.

Minimum Starting Salary: $665,000

Maximum Starting Salary: $710,000

Note: Salary is commensurate with qualifications, experience, and skills.

START DATE: ASAP

ABOUT FORDHAM

Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering an exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to more than 16,000 students in its 9 colleges and schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, a campus in West Harrison, N.Y., the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y., and the London Centre in the United Kingdom.

Fordham University is committed to excellence through diversity and welcomes candidates of all backgrounds.

Fordham is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Veterans/Disabled and other protected categories

How to apply

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 profile.

WittKieffer is assisting Fordham University in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by November 19, 2025.

Application materials, nominations, and inquiries can be directed to:

Robin Mamlet, Bree Liddell, and Tyler Workman

[email protected]