Pictured Above: The university listed the public job opening for Regional Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs last month, though the position has remained vacant for more than three years.
Courtesy of Cassidy Schuck
USF St. Petersburg is officially in the market for a new regional vice chancellor of academic affairs (RVCAA).
The university listed the public job opening last month, though the position has remained vacant for more than three years.
The RVCAA leads and implements much of the academic programming on the St. Petersburg campus, and works closely with all USF deans, department chairs and faculty. The position also oversees St. Petersburg’s academic support areas, such as graduate studies and the student success center.
The RVCAA also serves as the campus’s vice provost (VP). The vice provost collaborates with Provost Ralph Wilcox and university leadership on academic programming for all three USF campuses.
The job description states that the RVCAA/VP demonstrates a commitment to academic quality, diversity and inclusion, and global perspectives, and engages with faculty “in the spirit of shared governance across the campus and university.”
Eligible candidates for the position must have a Ph. D., exhibit a record of successful academic leadership as a department chair or comparable position, received tenure as a full professor at USF and is currently homed or eligible for designation at the St. Petersburg campus.
According to Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock, the university plans to hire someone during the spring semester in order to fill the position by July 1.
Tadlock confirmed that the search is underway, however, he is not part of the search committee. He said that he is not aware of who has applied and that finalists will remain confidential.
Search committee co-chairs Theresa Chisolm, vice provost for strategic planning, performance and accountability in Tampa, and Joan Reid, associate professor of criminology at the St. Petersburg campus, will evaluate potential candidates with help from other USF faculty, students and community members who also serve on the committee.
Catherine Cardwell, campus dean of Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, has been serving as St. Petersburg’s regional associate vice chancellor and vice provost during the RVCAA/VP vacancy. It is unknown if Cardwell is a candidate for the position.
The campus hasn’t permanently filled the RVCAA/VP position since Tadlock was promoted to interim regional chancellor in September 2017 and to permanent regional chancellor in August 2018.
However, results of consolidation have created a more urgent need to fill the role.
Due to consolidation, the role of regional chancellor has become increasingly focused on external relations between USF and the community, leaving a need for on-campus leadership.
“The role of the regional chancellor has shifted under consolidation,” Tadlock said. “(Regional chancellor) duties are primarily external. Which means a lot of time is being spent with community groups and organizations and people, including alumni and friends of the university… So, with that external focus drawing me away from campus more than in the past, that means that other individuals on the leadership team here pick up additional responsibilities on the campus.”
The future RVCAA/VP will report directly to Tadlock, serving as his “right-hand.”
“This person reporting to me is important to this campus because a lot of the responsibilities of the position will encompass a lot of focus on this campus,” Tadlock said. “A lot of focus on the campus that the regional chancellor in the past may have had more time to devote to, but that no longer is the case.”
