Engineering a world of possibilities

Apply via email at [email protected].

The Opportunity

Colorado School of Mines (Mines) invites applications and nominations for its next Provost – its senior leader responsible for shaping the faculty, students, and academic programs so that Mines continues to: a) excel in its mission of educating, innovating, and inspiring to produce the talent, knowledge, and innovations that industry and society need for prosperity, and b) advance toward its aspiration of being a top-of-mind and first-choice university for students, faculty, and external partners.

The Context

Colorado School of Mines is currently celebrating 150 years of impact on the world. About eight years ago, with this historic point in the university’s history in mind, the university embarked on its aggressive MINES@150 strategic plan and associated Campaign for MINES@150. The actions and investments made under this plan have been focused on positioning Mines for success in what was anticipated to be a highly disruptive and much more competitive future for higher education. Mines leveraged its size, location, unique expertise, industry and government partnerships and passionate alumni base, and built on its history of producing distinctive industry-ready graduates. Some notable MINES@150 accomplishments include an expanded and more relevant portfolio of academic programs, adding business acumen and a deeper awareness of challenges facing society and industry to its core education, doubling-down on hands-on learning and professional development, launching an entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, achieving R1 status, significantly expanding the facilities that support its mission, and hiring over 150 new full-time faculty.  

The university is engaging in discussions on where to focus its efforts for the next five years. While those will be evolving as this search proceeds, it can be anticipated that its strategic initiatives will be anchored to Mines’ “top-of-mind/first-choice” aspiration, focus on student success, pursuit of differentiation, distinction and a sustainable business model, and the ever-evolving alignment to the needs of industry and society. Being an exemplar university for alumni engagement and affinity is also a key goal relevant to the next Provost’s efforts.

Today, Mines’ community includes about 8000 students (6200 undergraduates, 1800 graduate students), about 350 full-time tenured, tenure-track, teaching and professor-of-practice faculty, more than 1000 other full-time employees dedicated to Mines unique mission, and more than 30,000 alumni. For the next five years, Mines expects to manage its undergraduate population at about its current size and quality, and seeks to increase to about 2500 graduate students, mostly through growth in non-thesis master’s and certificate programs.

Mines’ Next Provost 

Mines' next Provost will need to be an innovative, agile, and effective leader who can successfully conceive and drive initiatives that are strategically important to Mines’ future. Consistent with the discussion above, some of those will have to address the following:

• Growing the number of non-thesis master’s and certificate students enrolled at Mines

• Increasing the number of qualified applicants at all degree levels and from all backgrounds, so that Mines’ student population is reflective of the population it serves,

• Improving student success metrics (e.g., retention, persistence, time to graduation, student debt, career outcomes)

• Shaping the faculty and its expertise to deliver on Mines education mission, position the university to pursue and lead research and innovation in key areas that are important to industry and society, and advance Mines on its path to differentiation and distinction.

• Adjusting to disruptors (e.g., AI) in a way that furthers Mines mission and differentiation

• Ensuring equitable contributions from all faculty to Mines’ mission, and cost-effective use of all other resources dedicated to Mines’ education, discovery, and innovation efforts

• Pursuing opportunities for revenue generation from non-tuition sources

• Exploring and testing options for more scalable and effective learning 

• Building the bench of academic leaders at Mines

• Promoting excellence

To accomplish these and other strategic goals, the next Provost will need to work effectively and collaboratively with the President, members of the President’s Executive Team, and other university leaders. The next Provost will also need to be engaged with students and faculty. Effective communication, being pragmatic and strategic, and understanding the business of Mines will be critical to success.  

Organizational Location and Responsibilities

The Provost reports directly to Mines’ President and works in close collaboration with other members of the President’s Executive Cabinet. At a more granular level and in addition to strategic initiatives, the Provost’s Office leads student recruitment, retention, and graduation, faculty hiring, development, and retention, accreditation activities, the evolution of the academic programs portfolio and services, engagement with the Faculty Senate, the university library and museum, and utilization of resources dedicated to Mines’ academic mission. 

Qualifications

The successful Provost candidate will be an individual of distinguished accomplishment, high integrity, an outstanding record of leadership, and demonstrate the following qualifications:

• An understanding of and passion for the mission and strategic direction of Colorado School of Mines, 

• An earned doctorate in a science or engineering field relevant to Mines, 

• Significant accomplishments relevant to one or more components of Mines mission (e.g., education, innovation, research),

• Successful experience in developing and implementing strategic plans and effecting culture change in an organization,

• Successful experience developing and managing significant and complex budgets and financial projections,

• Successful experience interacting with senior industry and government leaders,

• A commitment to attracting and supporting a diverse community of high-achieving students, faculty, and staff,

• A commitment to interdisciplinary education and research efforts, excellence in education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and promoting and supporting a culture of safety throughout Mines’ education and research programs,

• Ability to effectively communicate the value and significance of, and recognize and reward outstanding accomplishments in all components of the faculty’s activities, including education, innovation, and research,

• Ability to work collaboratively with the faculty and other members of the academic community,

• Successful experience engaging stakeholders and constituents; outstanding interpersonal and communication skills; and an open and collaborative style, and

• Familiarity with national trends relevant to higher education.

Annual Salary Rate and Benefits
 

$350,000 - $400,000

Mines takes into consideration a combination of candidate’s education, training and experience as well as the position’s scope and complexity, the discretion and latitude required in the role, work location, and external market and internal value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Colorado School of Mines offers a robust portfolio of benefits for all employees. For this role, that includes:

• Flexible health and dental care options

• Generous sick/vacation time: 13 paid holidays per year – including a week-long winter break for entire campus.

• Fully vested retirement plan on first day of employment, with generous employer contribution

• Tuition benefits (6 credits per year for employees, 50 percent discount for dependents)

• Free RTD Ecopass

All Mines employees also have access to discount programs through the State of Colorado and free tickets for Mines Athletics home games, as well as access to the on-campus Recreation Center (fitness classes and training, swimming pool and more), equipment rentals through the Outdoor Rec Center and the Colorado State Employee Assistance Program (CSEAP). Access to a on-campus daycare center with STEM educational programming. For more information about benefits at Mines, go to mines.edu/human-resources/benefits.

Application and Nomination Process

The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications immediately and will continue to accept applications and nominations until the position is filled. Applications and letters of nomination must be submitted to [email protected]. Do not apply via the "apply" button, but instead use email for confidentiality. References will not be contacted until later in the selection process and you will be informed before that contact is made. ​Applications will remain confidential until the selection of the finalists, whose names and application materials will be made public.

Nomination letters should include the name, position, address and telephone number of the nominee. All nominations and applications will be handled in confidence.

Applications must include the following documents:

• A letter of interest describing relevant experience,

• A statement on contributions to diversity and inclusion, describing your past experiences and proposed activities to advance access, inclusion and diversity at Mines (maximum of 2 pages), and

• A curriculum vitae.

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Diversity & Inclusion Statement: Candidates should submit a statement on Contributions to Diversity and Inclusion. Mines is committed to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (for more information visit https://www.mines.edu/about/diversity). The diversity and inclusion statement should describe your past experience and proposed activities to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and access at Mines.
 

The University

Located in the historic small town of Golden, at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains just 13 miles west of Denver, Colorado School of Mines has been a state institution since 1874 before Colorado attained statehood, making it the oldest public institution of higher education in the state. Since its founding, Mines has evolved from an institution serving the needs of the local mining industry to an internationally recognized research university offering engineering and applied science degrees through the doctoral level. 

Mines has the highest admissions standards of any university in Colorado and among the highest of any public university in the U.S. and in 2024 the University was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the Top 40 Public Schools. Roughly half of Mines’ students are Colorado residents and nearly 30% of Mines’ students are women and Mines has the largest Society of Women Engineers chapter in the nation. Mines’ graduates are distinctive in the workforce and employers frequently point to their ability to get things done, their creativity in solving difficult problems, and how well they work in and lead teams as distinguishing characteristics. With its intimate size, the Mines community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners value inquiry and innovation, inspiration, challenge, collaboration, openness, diversity, respect, compassion and integrity.

In addition to a breadth of education and research programs in most fields of science and engineering, Mines is an R1 university and one of a very few institutions in the world having depth in resource exploration, extraction, production and utilization. Research at Mines is use-inspired and strongly linked to its educational mission. Research efforts are conducted in individual labs and across more than 30 centers, which span a wide range of thematic topics including energy, water, resource discovery, production and management, materials, health, and information technology. Mines research enterprise currently attracts about $100 million of external funding per year, with sponsors including private industry, federal agencies, and philanthropic foundations. Mines faculty take advantage of the close proximity to collaborate with partners from neighboring institutions such as the University of Colorado-Boulder and Colorado State University, as well as with nearby agencies such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Mines also benefits from a passionate alumni base and has a strong record of private investment and philanthropic support. After celebrating our 150th birthday this year, Mines will celebrate next year the completion of its Mines@150 campaign that will have raised $500M+ in support of the education and research missions of the university.

For more information about the Colorado School of Mines, please visit https://www.mines.edu/.

More About The Application Process

Mines welcomes all qualified candidates to apply. It is the intent of Mines to comply with the applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, and their implementation rules and regulations, in support of equal opportunities for qualified applicants with disabilities to promote diversity and inclusion at Mines. To meet this goal, Mines will make reasonable accommodations during the employment selection process and within our working environment.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to access job openings or apply for a job on our site as a result of your disability. You can request a reasonable accommodation by contacting our Human Resources team at  [email protected] or 303.273.3250 for assistance.

Colorado School of Mines does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of their age, sex, race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or military service, or genetic information in its administration of educational policies, programs, or activities; admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other University-administered programs; or employment. In addition, the School does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression consistent with the School’s nondiscrimination policy.
 

Colorado's premier engineering and applied science university for 150 years and counting