Columbia University
Vice President, University Life
🇺🇸 Morningside, NY
🕑 Full-Time
💰 $295K - $305K
💻 Other
🗓️ August 19th, 2025
Edtech.com's Summary
Columbia University is hiring a Vice President, University Life to lead strategic initiatives that enhance the non-academic student experience. The role involves collaborating with colleagues and students across the university, supervising operational units within University Life, and driving the division's strategic vision to support a vibrant, inclusive campus community.
Highlights
- Leads strategic, operational, and fiscal oversight for units such as the Center for Student Success and Intervention, Religious Life, Community Impact, and Student Life.
- Manages cross-functional projects and provides strategic guidance on evolving university dynamics and higher education trends.
- Convenes deans of students and the Student Affairs Network to strengthen student experience and address cross-school policies.
- Acts as liaison with central administrative units, external organizations, and key committees to ensure communication and alignment.
- Requires an advanced degree and at least 10 years of professional leadership experience in decentralized or matrixed university settings.
- Must be available for rapid crisis and community response during off-hours.
- Demonstrates expertise in change management, collaborative team leadership, consensus building, and crisis management in complex environments.
- Possesses strong supervisory, communication, and political acumen skills with a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and student conduct principles.
- Experience in prestigious academic environments such as Ivy League or large research universities is preferred.
- Salary range is $295,000 to $305,000 for a full-time officer of administration role with 35 hours per week.
Vice President, University Life Full Description
- Job Type: Officer of Administration
- Regular/Temporary: Regular
- Hours Per Week: 35
- Salary Range: $295,000 - $305,000
The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.
Position Summary
Who We Are:
University Life is a central division that works with Columbia’s 17 schools and colleges and serves as a student life hub serving over 35,000 students. We focus on connecting students to each other, to the broader University and surrounding community, and to opportunities beyond their schools.
University Life was created to develop and enhance the student experience at Columbia University. Working in collaboration with offices across the University, University Life focuses on enhancing the student experience by strengthening resources, policies, and conversations, and building community outside of the classroom.
Position Summary:
Reporting to the Executive Vice President for University Life the Vice President, University Life (VPUL) will drive critical strategic initiatives for the division; to work collaboratively with colleagues and students across the University on a range of important issues that affect the non-academic student experience; and to supervise operational units within University Life. Through developing, guiding, and implementing programs and initiatives, this position will have a significant impact on the student experience at Columbia..
As a senior leader in University Life, the Vice President will help drive the division’s strategic vision and ensure alignment between daily operations and long-term goals. With a university-wide perspective, the VPUL will collaborate with divisional and school-based partners to strengthen coordination, advance shared initiatives, and support a vibrant, inclusive campus community.
The VPUL will serve as a key thought partner to the Interim Executive Vice President, helping to shape and implement an integrated divisional strategy. They will lead strategic initiatives, manage cross-functional partnerships, and represent the division on high-priority working groups—building coalitions and driving progress on key University Life and Columbia priorities.
This is an exciting opportunity for a senior student affairs professional to provide thought leadership to shape the student experience over the next decade, establish and promote innovative practices, and partner with the vast and experienced student-facing staff in schools, as well as a wide range of central administrative units to support a dynamic student experience at Columbia.
Responsibilities
Leadership and Strategic Oversight:
- Provides strategic, operational, and fiscal oversight and leadership to the Center for Student Success and Intervention (CSSI), Religious Life, Community Impact, and Student Life.
- Provides management and oversight of a broad range of high-, medium-, and low-level projects within University Life, including strategic planning, implementation, coordination of, and logistics for select priorities and initiatives on behalf of the EVP.
- Understands and provides strategic guidance on the changing dynamics within the University and higher education more generally, with flexibility and capacity to both address current needs and envision, develop, and implement future-oriented planning and projects.
- Represent the Executive Vice President as a designee when needed, providing leadership and continuity on key initiatives and in high-level discussions.
Cross-School Collaboration and Community Building:
- Convenes and provides guidance for deans of students at all schools to strengthen the student experience, including sharing of best practices, problem-solving, managing crises, and building and supporting community.
- Convenes the Student Affairs Network (SAN), bringing together student-facing staff from across the institution to identify student and staff issues across the University.
- Coordinates, supports and, at times, directs activities, events, and initiatives within University Life.
- Provides direction on cross-school policy and resource issues in a variety of areas (e.g. policies regarding leaves of absence and other student support, student survey administration, financial literacy, conflict resolution, etc.), including convening appropriate colleagues to implement short-term strategies and long-term solutions when issues arise with cross-school impact.
- Partners with relevant offices to support processes addressing sexual misconduct, discrimination, and harassment.
Institutional Representation:
- Attends and/or leads key committee or working group meetings.
- Act as liaison between University Life and other Central Administrative units, ensuring clear communication and strategic alignment.
- Serve as liaison to external organizations as needed (NASPA, IvyPlus, etc.)
Minimum Qualifications
- Advanced degree required.
- A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in a leadership role within a decentralized and/or matrixed University or organization.
- Ability to be available during off-hours for rapid crisis and/or community response.
- Adept in change management and implementation.
- Demonstrated experience managing collaborative teams in a rapid and politically complex environment.
- Demonstrated success leading end-to-end projects and building consensus among stakeholders.
The successful candidate will possess the following qualities:
- Exceptional supervisory, people management and communication skills – a good listener who can be both empathetic and pragmatic.
- Excellent judgment in student affairs operations, management, and best practices - staying current with existing and emerging trends in higher education.
- Exceptional political acumen and strategic insight, with the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics and effectively engage diverse campus stakeholders.
- An action-oriented style – a leader who enjoys both strategic and tactical involvement in developing systems necessary for University Life’s evolution.
- Proven experience managing crises in complex, high-stakes environments.
- Deep commitment to and experience with developing and implementing strategies and initiatives that promote a diverse and inclusive community.
- A strong understanding of student conduct, student activism and civic engagement principles and processes.
- Analytical thinker who can recognize and understand large-scale systems challenges, and employs a solutions- and evidence-based approach to addressing them.
- Attuned to the student experience at the micro-level with the skill to enact change at the macro-level.
- Comfort and effectiveness in providing student affairs leadership in settings without a conventional student affairs framework.
- Experience working within prestigious academic environments—such as Ivy League institutions or large, urban R1 research universities—with ambitious, high-achieving student populations.
- Possess the highest level of personal and professional integrity and quality standards.
Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran
Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.
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