Executive Director - National Association of System Heads

The executive director has two primary responsibilities:
1. Provide support for system leaders, including the following:
• Organize the NASH annual meeting;
• Develop and maintain NASH communications vehicles, including a NASH Web site, reports, and other forms of exchange among members;
• Organize briefings for new system heads;
• Identify expert help for system leaders on specific topics;
• Identify system leaders to testify on major policy questions or otherwise represent the system view in policy forums; and
• Represent NASH with national organizations, including higher education associations and others.

2. Develop and oversee cross-system collaborations:

NASH increasingly has focused on areas where system leadership is important to significantly increase student access to and success in higher education and to close historic gaps among groups. Chief among the organization’s current initiatives is Access to Success (A2S). Launched in 2007, this voluntary effort—conducted with the support of The Education Trust—brings together participating system leadership teams to learn from one another and outside experts about the appropriate and necessary actions to close the gaps in access and attainment. The initiative involves setting goals, building public support and momentum for meeting the goals, identifying and mounting powerful action strategies, and publicly reporting progress on a common set of metrics. Twenty-four NASH systems representing 378 two-year and four-year campuses and more than three million students are participating in A2S. These systems have set overall improvement goals and have committed to halving the gaps separating low-income and underrepresented minority students from others in both access and success.

The NASH executive director will work with the higher education team at The Education Trust to do the following:
• Create venues for cross-system learning;
• Identify and mobilize relevant expertise on access and success issues, both from within and from outside participating systems;
• Provide hands-on assistance to system leaders as they mobilize the energies of their campuses; and
• Report to the public on progress.

Qualifications and Experience:
• A strong interest in developing leadership capacity in systems;
• A minimum of five to seven years of experience in a significant leadership role within higher education, preferably including experience working in a system of higher education;
• Deep understanding of, and willingness to assume significant responsibility for, cross-system initiatives that address undergraduate education;
• Demonstrated understanding of federal and state policy contexts that affect higher education systems;
• Excellent analytic and communication skills—both oral and written;
• Ability to travel;
• A record of strong, effective work with CEOs and board leaders;
• A passion for improving access to and success in higher education, especially for low-income and minority students, and a record of working within the institutions that serve them; and
• Possession of a doctorate or master’s degree.

This is a full-time position; however, NASH is open to some adjustments in duties to enable a less than full-time appointment.

Compensation: Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. NASH offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Application Process: The human resources department of The Education Trust is managing the application process for this search. Please provide a cover letter and resume to be considered for this position. Please combine your cover letter and resume into one document and upload that document. Our application system will not allow you to upload more than one file. To begin the application process, please click this link.

NASH is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages diversity in all facets of the organization’s work.

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General Counsel - University of Wisconsin System

The University of Wisconsin System Administration invites applications for the position of General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel. The University of Wisconsin System is one of the largest systems of public higher education in the country, serving more than 175,000 students and employing more than 32,000 faculty and staff statewide. The system includes 13 four-year universities, 13 two-year colleges and a state-wide UW-Extension. The Office of General Counsel provides legal services and support to the Board of Regents, and to the officers, employees and agents of the UW System Administration, the campuses and UW-Extension.

Responsibilities: The General Counsel is the chief legal officer of the University of Wisconsin (UW) System. The General Counsel serves as principal legal counsel to the Board of Regents, the UW System President and the System Administration, and the Chancellors of UW institutions. The General Counsel also coordinates and oversees the provision of legal services to all UW System institutions, rendering oral and written legal advice on a wide array of legal subjects to institutional employees and officers. The General Counsel must exercise professional judgment and discretion in the identification, management, and resolution of legal problems involving the Board of Regents, the UW System and UW institutions. This position is located in Madison, WI.

The General Counsel will serve the Board of Regents and the System President by providing legal advice on all matters pertinent to higher education including but not limited to: the business operations of public universities; the statutory and constitutional framework and federal and administrative regulations applicable to institutions of higher education; litigation management; personnel matters; academic shared governance; student affairs; real estate transactions; trademark, copyright and intellectual property matters; technology transfer; immigration issues; and bankruptcy and collection matters. Occasional in-state and out-of-state travel is required.

Qualifications: Candidates must have graduated from an A.B.A. -accredited law school; be a member, in good standing, of the State Bar of Wisconsin, or be eligible for and achieve admission to the State Bar of Wisconsin within one year of the date of appointment. Candidates should have a minimum of ten (10) years of significant and progressively responsible legal experience including: analyzing and interpreting state and federal laws and administrative code provisions and reviewing proposed legislation for policy and procedural impact; providing written and oral presentations before various constituents, governmental agencies and various outside organizations; providing oral and written advice to clients on a broad array of legal subjects; and developing and presenting preventive law programs to clients. Qualified candidates will have a proven record of ability to analyze complex legal issues, and capacity to serve as a creative thinker and problem-solver and demonstrated ability to successfully lead and manage experienced attorneys and support staff.

Although not required, preference will be given to experience with direct advising of higher education clients, and familiarity with legal issues in higher education and the process of shared governance in academic settings. Preference will also be given to management and supervisory experience of similarly sized legal office settings and/or large or similarly sized entities.

Other Information: Additional information regarding the UW System and the Office of General Counsel can be found at www.uwsa.edu/gc-off/

Conditions of Appointment: This is a full-time unclassified limited appointment that serves at the pleasure of the UW System President. Salary will be commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications and experience. An excellent retirement and medical benefits package is also included.

The UW System conducts criminal background checks for final candidate(s).

Application Procedure and Deadline: To ensure consideration, applications must be received by 4:30 PM on Friday, June 18, 2010. To apply, please send a letter of application explaining how your skills and experience relate to the responsibilities and qualifications above; a current professional resume; a statement of whether you wish to have the application held in confidence or made available to the public on request; and the current contact information of at least three supervisory references to: Dan Kneisler, Office of Human Resources and Workforce Diversity, email:dkneisler@uwsa.edu

Complete materials should be submitted electronically as Microsoft Word or PDF attachments. Do not send application materials in the body of an email as formatting will be lost. (If you are unable to submit materials electronically in this format, please contact Dan Kneisler at 608-263-8630 or by email for special arrangements.) Please indicate where you saw our ad/posting for this position.

Pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes, upon request we are required to provide a list of all nominees and applicants who have not requested in writing that their identity not be revealed. Persons agreeing to be final candidates will have their identity revealed as a final candidate.

The University of Wisconsin System is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to the principles of diversity.