Job description

Valhalla, NY

Westchester Community College was founded in 1946 as the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in White Plains. In 1957, the County of Westchester bought the 360-acre John Hartford estate in Valhalla and designated 218 acres for the community college. Westchester Community College is more than just the county’s largest educational institution. It is a living, breathing part of Westchester that goes beyond the influence of a typical college and affects the lives of all who enter its doors.

Job Description:

This chief student affairs officer reports to the President and is responsible for providing leadership and vision for a comprehensive student experience agenda designed to promote belonging, well-being, and achievement for the multifaceted student body at SUNY Westchester Community College, SUNY’s first Hispanic Serving Institution, the most diverse of SUNY’s 64 campuses, and an Achieving the Dream college. The incumbent leads, directs, and evaluates teams that research, develop, and execute a range of access, involvement, and success experiences that improve students’ connection to the college, to each other, to their academic endeavors, and to their opportunities for development as students across the following three mission-critical areas:

1. Student Success and Completion Initiatives. Cultivates and manages new and continuing grant projects inclusive of the following units: Accessibility Services, Counseling and Academic Advising, Opportunity Programs, Retention Interventions (including early alert, holistic supports, and case management models), Career and Transfer Advising, Program Navigation, and Completion Support.
2. Student Life. Develops and implements programs that engage students in the SUNY WCC community, foster student leadership development, accountability, civic engagement, and a sense of belonging, as well as support student health and well-being inclusive of the following units: Student Involvement, Student Support Services, Mental Health & Counseling Services, Health Services, Veteran & Military Affiliated Student Services, Athletics, and Student Rights and Responsibilities.
3. Enrollment Strategy and Execution. Collaborates across the college to ensure excellent, timely, and approachable student services and interactions; develops, monitors, and acts upon performance indicators of student enrollment, retention, and graduation for continuous improvement inclusive of the following units: Enrollment Planning, Admissions, Financial Aid, and Records (including International Students).

Across the entire Student Affairs division, the incumbent will be responsible for the following:

• Identify technological tools and support for student experiences and assure the development of technical expertise necessary to provide effective and efficient service;
• Develop expected outcomes for all student development programs, evaluate the outcomes, prepare reports, and provide feedback to the college community;
• Assure compliance with relevant services and program reports required by local, state, or federal agencies related to all direct report service units; and
• Collaborate on the development and execution of effective and innovative programs in student development services promoting SUNY WCC as a regional and national leader in delivering an exceptional student experience.

This is a special opportunity for an experienced leader to improve the student experience by focusing on student achievement and satisfaction, establishing repeatable and regularly evaluated processes, and by improving efficiencies across units. The ideal candidate will multi-task in a fast-paced environment working cooperatively and collaboratively with other college and community leaders to improve all student development programs, enrollment strategy, and enhance institutional effectiveness and student outcome measures.

Requirements:

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: A minimum of a Master’s degree and five years of successful administrative experience in student affairs or a related field, including three years in college administration, is required. The successful candidate must possess experience with higher education administrative systems. Knowledge and commitment to the goals and mission of the community college and evidence of responsiveness to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students required, as these factors relate to the need for equity-minded practice within the classroom. The demonstrated ability to interact with a diverse staff is also required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: An earned doctorate in related field is strongly preferred. Successful experience with institutional reform work is also preferred. A broad awareness and understanding of theories of change needed for comprehensive student success and completion work is strongly preferred as well as a proven record of change management and positive student success outcomes.

Additional Information:

SALARY & BENEFITS: The starting salary is $143,116. Additional compensation with seniority steps may be attained over time maximizing at a salary of $212,655. Excellent benefits include comprehensive health coverage, a choice of defined benefit or defined contribution pension plan, generous leave benefits, and access to tax shelter annuities and a deferred compensation plan.

How to apply

Applicants must apply online by submitting a letter expressing interest in this position, a resume/CV, and contact information for three professional references. The successful candidate must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. Please login to: https://sunywcc.interviewexchange.com/login.jsp in order to check/edit your profile or to upload additional documents. Priority will be given to applications received by October 17, 2025. However, the search process may include the review of applications beyond the priority deadline, as necessary, and until the position is filled.

Westchester Community College provides accessible, high quality and affordable education to meet the needs of our diverse community. We are committed to student success, academic excellence, workforce development, economic development and lifelong learning.

The College will provide equal opportunity in all of its employment practices to all persons without unlawful discrimination on the basis of political affiliation, age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, arrest or conviction record, membership in any reserve component of the armed forces, or use or non-use of lawful products off College premises during nonworking hours, or any other status protected by applicable state or federal law.