PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Director New Student and Family Programs Position Opening – deadline is 3/4

Posted on February 26, 2019

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) seeks an exceptional and innovative professional to serve as Director of New Student & Family Programs. This position provides institutional leadership, vision, and management for a comprehensive department designed to ensure meaningful transitions into the University for new, transfer, and returning students through new student and family orientation, online orientation, Weeks of Welcome, a co-curricular first year experience, and Family Programs. The Director serves as an integral member of UIC Student Affairs, reports to the Executive Director of Student Development Services, and is part of the leadership team for the Student Engagement area led by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement. The Director leads efforts to develop programs and services that support the success and graduation of students in an urban learning environment. The Director collaborates with key campus partners inside Student Affairs, as well as academic units and Colleges, to welcome and support students in their transition to UIC.

Director, New Student & Family Programs Responsibilities:

  • Establish the strategic direction, conceptualize and implement student development programs and services that support student transition and persistence, and monitor and assess program effectiveness.
  • Identify ways of engaging and communicating with families that leverage efforts to support student success. Set specific short and long-term goals.
  • Determine program needs based on understanding and knowledge of orientation, transition, and retention.
  • Recommend policy level direction regarding new student orientation, transition, support, persistence, and retention to senior management
  • Develop and implement initiatives related to online orientation and extended orientation.
  • Develop and implement initiatives related to enhancing communication and community-building with family members of new students from pre-orientation to graduation. Leverage family involvement to further support successful student transition and retention initiatives, which includes family weekend programming.
  • Partner with other campus stakeholders to further support student success as it relates to first-year, transfer, and other identifiable student populations.
  • Coordinate and report assessment data related to the experience, persistence, and retention of students participating in department programming.
  • Direct daily operations that includes financial management, human resources, information systems, procurement, customer service, and quality improvement.
  • Recognize and communicate generational student differences that may impact both the planning and implementation of effective student transition programming.
  • Partner with campus stakeholders to identify and develop salient and effective programs that support student transition, retention, and graduation. Establish and maintain a dynamic working relationship with Summer College planners as well as the Council of Associate and Assistant Deans (CAAD).
  • Serve as supervisor and unit budget director for New Student and Family Programs budgets totaling over $900,000.
  • Accountable for the development of campus wide policies and/or strategies affecting student transition programs and processes.

Position Qualifications:

  • A minimum of a Master’s degree in college student development, higher education or a related field required.
  • A minimum of five years supervisory, administrative, and programming experiences in a Student Affairs department, preferably in Orientation, New Student Programs, Admissions, or Family Programs. Strong fiscal competency.
  • Experience with conflict resolution, crisis management, working with student groups, program development, financial management, and teaching educational workshops and college courses.
  • Effective communication and consulting skills and the ability to collaborate with campus leadership.
  • Strong interest in serving a diverse student population effectively including advocacy efforts and educational outreach activities.

Student Affairs at UIC:

With over 600 staff members and 1,100 student employees, Student Affairs is comprised of 25 departments responsible for providing programs, services, and facilities that support student engagement, learning, and success. Student Affairs recently embarked on a new plan driving the organization called Ignite 2025: The plan for student life at UIC. The vision is to provide the premiere urban university student experience. In support of that vision, in fall of 2018 the Division underwent an organizational realignment bringing together the Center for Student Involvement, Student Leadership & Civic Engagement, Fraternity & Sorority Life, New Student & Family Programs, Commuter & Off- Campus Programs, and UIC Impact under a new Student Engagement area led by a new Associate Vice Chancellor role. With this realignment, New Student & Family Programs was elevated from a program to a department. The Director of New Student & Family Programs will serve as the inaugural director to lead a comprehensive unit that welcomes and supports students in their transition to UIC.

 About the University of Illinois at Chicago

UIC is among the nation’s preeminent urban public research universities, a Carnegie RU/VH research institution, and the largest university in Chicago. UIC serves over 31,000 students, comprising one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and is designated as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPSI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). This fall, UIC enrollment reached 31,683 students making it the fourth year of record-breaking enrollment for the university. UIC currently has the strongest enrollment momentum in Illinois. Through its 15 colleges, UIC produces nationally and internationally recognized multidisciplinary academic programs in concert with civic, corporate and community partners worldwide, including a full complement of health sciences colleges. In 2019, UIC expects to create its 16th college by acquiring Chicago’s John Marshall Law School. By emphasizing cutting-edge and transformational research along with a commitment to the success of all students, UIC embodies the dynamic, vibrant and engaged urban university. The university is in the midst of a $750 million campaign and recently released a campus master plan that will reimagine UIC’s campus. Recent “Best Colleges” rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, found UIC climbed up in its rankings among top public schools in the nation and among all national universities. UIC has nearly 260,000 alumni, and is one of the largest employers in the city of Chicago.

To see the full posting and apply though UIC Human Resources at https://jobs.uic.edu/job-board/job-details?jobID=109176&job=director-of-new-student-and-family-programs-student-affairs