Professor of Practice & Director of Students Finding Purpose

About Roanoke College

Roanoke College is a place where every student who works hard has the opportunity to succeed. We champion potential, providing essential learning and leadership through innovative academic programs and transformative educational experiences, giving students the mettle, mindset, and empathy to pursue lives of purpose, build meaningful careers, and meet society’s most pressing needs. Located in scenic Salem, Virginia, Roanoke College is an intimate, welcoming community that has served the local region and beyond for nearly 200 years. Now, we’re building on momentum and offering a Roanoke experience for today’s students and a legacy that belongs to every Maroon.

Position Overview

Reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of the College, this position will play a central leadership and campus-wide coordinating role in advancing Imperative 3 of Roanoke College’s strategic plan, Imagine Roanoke, which aspires: “To make the exploration of purpose, the pursuit of character, and the graduation of leaders a distinction of a Roanoke College education.” As part of this strategic effort, this position will bring focus to the revision and execution of Roanoke College’s SACS-COC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges) Quality Enhancement Plan entitled The Purpose Project. The individual selected for this role will be expected to teach 1-2 courses each semester and/or advise students in support of this effort (or in other areas where the selected candidate has needed expertise). In addition, this role will work closely with the Vice President for Student Success and PLACE (Purpose, Life, and Career Explorations) to ensure seamless coordination with that Office’s efforts.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and Institutional Alignment

•Build a campus-wide working group to discern practical steps for advancing Imperative 3 and the College’s SACS-COC QEP “Purpose Project.”

•In consultation with the Dean of the College and Vice President for Student Success, recommend ways the curriculum and co-curriculum, including athletics, can support “students finding purpose” as a distinctive outcome of the Roanoke student experience.

•Serve as an adjunct advisor on the PLACE team, supporting students in their career discernment.

•Provide leadership with the College’s “Strengths-based” learning initiative as a mechanism for helping students find meaning and purpose in designing their education and work after graduation.

•Work with Human Resources and hiring managers to develop campus jobs as “internships” with opportunities to achieve essential learning outcomes.

Educational Leadership and Cultural Development

•Provide campus-wide educational programming for students, faculty, and staff on topics germane to Imperative 3 and the Purpose Project.

•Design and implement professional development opportunities to equip leaders across the institution with the tools to promote the aims of Imperative 3 and the Purpose Project.

•Serve as Associate Director of the Linking Lives Program, supporting the Director in advancing and integrating “purpose exploration” into its programs, including teaching courses in that program abroad as needed.

•Teach 1-2 courses a semester as identified in collaboration with the Dean of the College and the AVP for Academic Operations.

•Develop a leadership/finding purpose certificate program for adult learners in collaboration with the Executive Director of RC-RV.

Qualifications:

•Advanced degree in a related field with a passion for student development.

•Expertise in developing and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies that foster a sense of belonging for all campus community members.

•Exceptional interpersonal, collaboration, and communication skills, with the ability to build strong relationships across diverse constituencies.

•Superb communication skills, both oral and written, with exceptional attention to detail.

•A passion for students and the transformational power of education, particularly education for leadership, character, and purpose.