Vice President of Academic Affairs

Job Summary

Sheridan College is seeking an innovative, collaborative, and student-centered leader to serve as our next Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). As the College’s Chief Academic Officer, the VPAA provides strategic leadership for academic programs and instructional support services while championing excellence in teaching, learning, and student success.

Serving as a key member of the President’s executive leadership team (President’s Cabinet), the VPAA shapes the College’s academic vision and leads initiatives that strengthen the quality of instruction, expand opportunities, foster and grow the Northern Wyoming Career Pathway Partnership, and advance student outcomes across all academic programs.

This position may be assigned the role of Accreditation Liaison Officer.

This is an exciting opportunity for a transformational leader who is passionate about educational excellence, faculty engagement, workforce responsiveness, transfer success, and creating accessible pathways that empower all learners to achieve their goals.

Ideal Candidate

• Demonstrates a strong commitment to student success and academic excellence.
• Builds trust through transparent communication and collaborative leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large teams and is skilled in handling challenges that arise among team members and/or external partners.
• Builds meaningful partnerships that enhance educational and workforce opportunities.
• Leads with integrity, innovation, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Has significant demonstrated experience in implementing best practices related to program review, continuous quality improvement, and integrated planning.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Academic Leadership and Support – Provide strategic leadership and support for academic excellence, faculty development, instructional programs and support services, student learning and achievement, innovation, and accreditation compliance.
• Student Success & Academic Excellence – Advance student success through data-informed strategies and student-centered pathways and programming.
• Strategic Partnerships & Workforce Alignment – Build partnerships that strengthen workforce alignment, dual and concurrent enrollment, transfer opportunities, and community impact. Provide leadership in educational planning activities and schedule development to meet College and student needs; direct the development and implementation of instructional programs. Provide leadership and support in developing and implementing enrollment management processes. Encourage program innovation and renewal in response to changing community, student, and workforce needs and conditions.
• Strategic Planning, Implementation, and Enrollment – Play a significant leadership role in the ongoing implementation of the College’s Strategic Plan to 2030, including advancing initiatives that drive enrollment growth and support institutional priorities.
• Fiscal & Operational Stewardship – Oversee resources, budgets, curriculum, class schedule, and assessment to drive academic quality and student outcomes.
• Human Capital – Assist in the recruitment, selection, development, supervision, and evaluation of academic personnel.
• Accreditation – The College will undergo a Comprehensive Evaluation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which includes an Assurance Review, Student Opinion Survey, and an on-site peer review visit scheduled for fall 2028. The VPAA will lead the college’s efforts to ensure compliance with and exceed HLC accreditation criteria and standards across all areas of Academic Affairs. As assigned by the President, the VPAA may serve as the College’s Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s Degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
• Five years of progressively responsible leadership/administrative/supervisory experience managing instructional programs in higher education.
• Minimum two years of full-time teaching experience.
• Demonstrated experience with development, monitoring, and administration of budgets.
• Demonstrated experience developing, managing, and evaluating employees.
•  Demonstrated experience with facilitation of teaching and learning; working collaboratively with faculty and others with evidence of championing teaching excellence.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing and using data and qualitative evidence to inform decision-making, evaluate program effectiveness, and achieve institutional priorities.
• Demonstrated experience fostering collaboration with and between multiple units to align academic scheduling or program development or student success strategies with student services.
• Demonstrated experience serving students from a variety of backgrounds, including, but not limited to, students from underserved and/or underrepresented backgrounds, adult learners, Veterans, and first-generation students.

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctoral degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
• Progressively responsible leadership/administrative/supervisory experience in community colleges having served as a senior-level director/dean that includes the development, monitoring, and administration of a budget and management of multiple direct-reports.
• Demonstrated experience working closely with their immediate supervisor and colleagues.
• Demonstrated experience acquiring additional resources through grants and other funding sources.
• Demonstrated experience using learning assessment as a tool for continuous improvement at course, program, and institutional levels, with demonstrated success engaging faculty in assessment practices.
• Demonstrated success collaborating with faculty, Student Affairs, and Workforce partners to understand student and community needs through data and stakeholder voices, resulting in responsive scheduling, program design, and pathways that prepare students for careers and transfer.
• Proven ability to collaborate across all levels, interacting directly with diverse faculty to understand perspectives and identify exceptional practices, while working with senior leadership to communicate the urgency and potential for advancing equitable student success.
•  Demonstrated experience leading and engaging others in instructional strategic planning and implementation, program review, and assessment initiatives to improve and advance student outcomes.
• Commitment to creating and fostering a college climate and culture of empathy, understanding, and care for and with others.

Salary Range

$162,025 – $194,430

Benefits Information

Sheridan College offers a generous benefit package for qualifying employees, including paid time off, retirement contributions, health insurance coverage for employees and their family, tuition reimbursement options, and additional employee benefits.

Application Instructions

Interested candidates should apply online. Completed applications received by Sept. 10, 2026, will receive full consideration.

All applicants must submit:

• Resume or CV.
• Detailed letter of interest (maximum of 3 pages) addressing how you meet the ideal candidate characteristics and preferred qualifications for the position.
• Unofficial transcripts from all higher education institutions where degrees were earned.
• A list of three references with email addresses and cell phone numbers for one supervisor, one direct report, and one faculty member.

Additional details about the position, the college, and the search can be accessed at https://www.sheridan.edu/executive-recruitment/

Candidate Inquiries

For additional information, confidential inquiries, and nominations, please contact:

Will Lewallen, Ph.D.
Executive Search Consultant
willardclewallen@gmail.com
(831) 682-3541