Vice President of Academic Affairs Search

College Overview

Casper College is a public, two-year comprehensive community college accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college offers credit programs consisting of Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Science, Associate of Business, Associate Degree in Nursing, Associate of Fine Arts, and specialized certificates and post-certificates. Casper College boasts more than 4,600 credit students from Wyoming, the United States, and beyond enrolled more than 130 academic transfer and technical and career programs (WCCC 2024–2025 Enrollment Report). A complete list of programs is available here.

The college also offers further educational opportunities through continuing and community education, adult basic education and learning, and high school equivalency, and workforce training. The workforce training program is integrated within the School of Business & Industry to ensure a stronger ability for students to transition into for-credit programs. The continuing program includes individual courses and professional credentials/CEUs for a variety of professions. For more information regarding these programs visit here. The campus is home to the University of Wyoming at Casper, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree options locally.

Casper College started as Wyoming’s first community college in 1945. Now in its 79th year, the college has grown to be one of the largest and most comprehensive community colleges in the region. The college is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees publicly elected by Natrona County voters to serve four-year terms governing the Casper Community College District. The college is part of the Wyoming community college system, which is a coordinating system through the Wyoming Community College Commission.

Located in Casper, Wyoming, the campus consists of 28 buildings on more than 200 acres. The grounds are distinctive, with terraces that surround the modern buildings. Casper sits at the convergence of five historic western trails along the banks of the North Platte River and the backdrop of Casper Mountain. The City of Casper consists of approximately 59,000 people and offers a wide range of entertainment, shopping, and recreation. The city is the heart of Natrona County, which consists of just over 80,000 people.

Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategic Priorities

Casper College aims to provide an education for a lifetime that will prepare individuals to thrive and adapt in an ever-changing world. As such, Casper College is guided by its belief and practice of putting students first. As a result, the strategic plan looks beyond the day-to-day work at the college and envisions a future closer to achieving our vision and better than where we are today. It fosters a dynamic and inclusive learning environment, aligns our goals, targets improvements, and further improves the quality of education and experience for students.

Vision

Casper College strives to provide an education for a lifetime that will prepare individuals to thrive and adapt in an ever-changing world.

Mission

Casper College is a public, comprehensive two-year institution with a primary focus on student success that provides learning opportunities to enrich the lives of our students and community.

Values

• Integrity — Hard work, accountability, trust, open communication, and respect.
• People — Growth, support, personal development, and positive relationships.
• Diversity — Thought, culture, and experience.
• Forward Thinking — Intentional, innovative, and sustainable planning in the pursuit of excellence.
• Community — Partnership and service.

2024–2029 Strategic Priorities/Goals

• Student Enrollment, Retention, and Engagement
• Program Development and Innovation
• Community Outreach and Educational Partnerships
• Employee Engagement

Vice President of Academic Affairs

The Vice President of Academic Affairs serves as the Chief Academic Officer for Casper College and assists the college in meeting its mission by providing leadership and vision for developing, implementing, and managing all phases of instruction. Reporting to the President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs is a key member of the senior administrative team and provides overall leadership and direction for the college.

The Vice President of Academic Affairs is responsible for managing all phases of instruction, including the coordination of curriculum development, growth, and change in response to the needs of a diverse community and business industry, and identifying and implementing best practices in academic affairs. The position acts as the official liaison to the Higher Learning Commission and ensures the college is in compliance with all related accreditation requirements. The Vice President of Academic Affairs works with regional colleges and universities to build articulation and transfer agreements, and works with secondary school officials to develop and implement cooperative programs.

The next Vice President of Academic Affairs of Casper College will be a person who will integrate with the culture of the Mountain West and Wyoming’s “rugged individualism.” The VPAA will be an energetic, passionate and strong communicator and collaborator, an active listener, a leader skilled in change management while able to make informed decisions, an academic leader committed to recognizing that industry partnership and transfer go hand-in-hand, and a champion for a student first culture.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Foster the College’s mission, vision, values, and Strategic Plan priorities across Academic Affairs including deans, faculty, staff, and students to increase shared understanding and commitment to student success.
• Provide leadership, direction, and policy formation for successful academic programs and services that are responsive to students and community needs to gain the skill sets and knowledge to meet evolving workforce demands. Lead the academic deans and direct reports in revising existing programs and exploring new programs including consideration of bachelor’s degrees.
• Develop strategies for appropriately integrating and leveraging artificial intelligence in academic and student support programs. Guide the college in identifying and integrating appropriate modern technology across all academic departments.
• Support and mentor academic deans and direct reports, empowering them as individuals and professionals to ensure that the college programs meet high standards of quality including specialized and professional accreditation. Collaborate with academic deans and departments to implement a faculty development program.
• Demonstrate commitment to evidence-based practices by using data to inform decisions, celebrate successes, and communicate priorities. Lead the college in exploring national models of community college excellence using proven evidence-based practices.
• Collaborate across Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to cultivate a student first learning environment that promotes engagement, learning, persistence, progression, completion, and post-completion success; lead academic initiatives such as curriculum design, articulation agreements, and intentional advising models to enhance college, career, and transfer success; and drive efforts to reduce barriers to student success by strategically aligning academic offerings and course schedules with comprehensive wraparound support services.
• Lead transitional change in Academic Affairs in support of Casper College Strategic Priorities using effective change management techniques with a focus on long-term stability in the VPAA position. Facilitate effective processes that engage academic leaders and faculty in organizational development, decision-making, and change through modernizing processes, promoting and showcasing academic strengths and student success, and offering innovative programs and academic pathways.
• Set clear expectations and implement consistent processes across Academic Affairs leaders and provide guidance and support for employees in their work. Set performance expectations and provide a cycle of feedback that focuses on continuous improvement.
• Establish a culture of unity through cross campus communication, active listening, consultation, and collaboration. Create a foundation of trust, transparency, and respect, inspiring and developing faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders to work together to address the college’s and community’s challenges and opportunities.
• Demonstrate commitment to improving student learning and success through strategic approaches to faculty appointment, professional development, evaluation, and assessment.
• Lead the development of Academic Affairs budgets, strategically aligning them to support the Strategic Plan priorities of the College and the Schools including community and continuing education. Ensure the responsible fiscal stewardship of the funds allocated to Academic Affairs.

Ideal Characteristics

• A creative, approachable, and innovative leader who works collaboratively with the President, Executive Council, college leadership and inspires faculty, staff, and students to be empowered to take calculated risks for overall institutional and student success.
• A visionary, strategic, and present leader who shows a willingness to learn and who recognizes and identifies opportunities for college teams to act within a shared governance framework. A track record of setting measurable goals, assessing progress, adapting to changing conditions, and using data to make informed decisions for the benefit of students, faculty, and staff.
• A leader who understands the roles and functions of a comprehensive community college including the diverse student populations such as traditional, returning or older, formerly incarcerated, concurrent/dual enrollment HS, working, and those with challenging lives.
• A leader who values and respects programs that serve a variety of student and workforce needs including community education, high school equivalency, continuing education and workforce development, skill building, general education/liberal arts, transfer, and new programs targeted toward emerging workforce trends and bachelor’s degrees.
• A leader with demonstrated experience cultivating and enhancing diverse and creative educational and training partnerships among internal and external stakeholders such as, but not limited to, across institutional departments/divisions, K–12 school districts, charter schools, homeschoolers, BOCES, other higher education institutions, state coordinating bodies, military, and/or business and industry communities to meet the changing needs of students and the region.
• A leader who utilizes technology to support student success and completion, increase the effectiveness and efficiency of technology integration in a classroom setting in various modalities including supporting faculty professional development related to technology.
• A leader with a demonstrated ability to create and maintain effective working relationships including demonstrated success of and commitment to shared, participative, and consultative governance and decision-making in academic institutions.
• A leader with the ability to foster teamwork and collaboration for internal and external partnerships with effective delegation skills while holding employees to professional expectations for their respective roles.
• An academic leader with experience in program planning, development and evaluation, curriculum design, faculty evaluation and development, program assessment and resource management. Commitment to staying current on the science of teaching, learning, assessment, and optimal student success practices.
• A leader with experience providing oversight for institutional, programmatic, and specialized accreditation.
• A visionary leader with proven success in supporting the execution of the college strategic plan.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree from an accredited institution is required with an earned doctorate strongly preferred. Submission of transcripts will be required during the application process.
• Minimum of three (3) years of successful and progressive relevant administration experience in higher education with preference for administrative experience at a community college.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience teaching in higher education with preference for teaching at a community college.

More Information

Why Choose Casper College provides a high-level overview of what Casper College offers. HR Employee Benefits page contains links for all providers, plan options, price estimators, etc.

The successful candidate must meet all employment requirements for Casper College and all state and federal compliance requirements. All finalists will be subject to a comprehensive background check and a robust referencing process that will include verification of work history and transcripts.

Contact / How to Inquire

All inquiries should be made to Dr. Sandy Caldwell, ACCT Consultant, 307‑389‑4193.

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