The University of New Hampshire—the flagship, land-, sea-, and space-grant university of the state of New Hampshire—seeks an innovative, collaborative, and strategic leader to serve as its next Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost). The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is the key public innovation and opportunity engine of New Hampshire; its citizens rely upon its engagement in all ten counties of the state through its cooperative extension. The state’s major industries and institutions seek partnerships with UNH scholars across engineering and the physical sciences, social sciences, health and human services, law, business, and liberal arts. UNH students look to its wide range of transformative educational offerings that span geographies, modalities, and demographics. The Provost, as the institution’s chief academic officer, has an incredible opportunity to advance impact and academic excellence for the institution, leveraging UNH’s distinctive institutional character and the critical role it plays for New Hampshire.
UNH was founded in 1866 and is the flagship and largest institution of the University System of New Hampshire (USNH). Its physical presence spans the main campus in Durham, the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law in Concord, and the UNH College of Professional Studies, which spans the physical campus in Manchester and UNH Online. UNH serves approximately 16,000 students (13,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students) in 11 schools and colleges, taught by 1,500 faculty and 2,800 staff. The campus in Durham is consistently hailed as one of New England’s most beautiful, and its coastal location with access to New Hampshire’s White Mountains and proximity to Boston allows a diverse array of programs to flourish in a culturally rich, intimate community. UNH is a leader in new and differentiated learning modalities, and its recent integration of Granite State College into the College of Professional Studies has greatly expanded UNH’s capabilities in online, distance, and hybrid learning. Its unique geographic span leverages the opportunities and vibrancy of Concord, New Hampshire’s state capital, connecting UNH with New Hampshire’s deeply engaged legislature and its established and emerging industries. The University received Research 1 status in 2019 and was awarded $252 million in competitive external research funding in FY24. UNH is quickly growing in prominence as a top-tier research institution while continuing its strong commitment to student access and success across New Hampshire and beyond.
Reporting to the President and working alongside a new Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Vice President for Student Life, college deans, and other senior leaders, the Provost will advance the academic mission of the campus as well as the coordination of post-secondary education throughout the University System of New Hampshire, leveraging resources and knowledge to inspire and advance the university. Serving as the deputy to the President, the successful provost candidate will have significant administrative leadership experience, deep familiarity with academic budgeting and planning processes, skill in communicating and connecting with key constituents internally and externally, and the capacity, courage, and decisiveness for strategic and well-informed decision-making. The next provost will be a collaborative leader committed to leveraging disciplinary strength across the arts, humanities, business, law, health and human services, engineering, social sciences, and physical and natural sciences, experience in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary education and research, and an understanding of the power of Cooperative Extension. They will bring strategic and entrepreneurial leadership, financial acumen, and an effective and enthusiastic approach to outreach and timely communication with the university’s internal and external communities, including the Board of Trustees.
In this recruitment effort, the University of New Hampshire has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist the University with the search. All applications, inquiries, and nominations, which will remain confidential, should be directed to the search firm’s website: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/university-new-hampshire/provost
The University System of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action employer. The University System is committed to creating an environment that values and supports diversity and inclusiveness across our campus communities and encourages applications from qualified individuals who will help us achieve this mission. The University System prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or marital status.
