President of Wilbur Wright

PRESIDENT OF WILBUR WRIGHT COLLEGE

 

The City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) has opened the search for President of Wilbur Wright College. Established in 1934, Wright College's current 23-acre site in the Northwest Side of Chicago opened in 1993. Wright College also has a presence in Humboldt Park with its Vocational Education Center. Serving as City Colleges' Center of Excellence of Engineering and Computer Science, Wright College is one of the seven two-year colleges comprising the City Colleges district and is a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The President reports to the Chancellor of the City Colleges.

 

With an approaching 90th year anniversary, focus on the college's mission and values will continue to be realized through innovation; student-centered attention; diversity, equity, and inclusion; academic quality; and community. Wright College offers an exceptional student experience to a richly diverse body of approximately 13,000 learners annually, all seeking a high‐quality education through associate degree and certificate programs, baccalaureate transfer, workforce preparation, career advancement, and personal development. Early College studies for high school students, adult and continuing education, high school equivalency, and English as a Second Language classes also are offered. The Wright College Rams compete in Division II of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

 

Wilbur Wright College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Among the college's signature programs are engineering, computer science, and paralegal studies, along with computerized numerical control. National and statewide recognition of Wright College and its students is seen through Excelencia in Education's prestigious Seal of Excelencia and the selection of the Engineering Pathway Program as a 2023 Example of Excelencia, the 2024 Carnegie Foundation's Elective Classification for Community Engagement, and the current Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship recipients, where the three Illinois recipients are Wright College students.

 

The Wright College President will be expected to build upon the institution's current strategic plan. The college will welcome a motivational team builder, team member, and team player, one who inspires trust, respect, and unity. The ideal candidate's leadership style will be characterized as approachable, congenial, and transparent.

 

ATTRIBUTES

 

The Wilbur Wright College community seeks a successful and experienced leader, one who values teaching, learning, and scholarship and will demonstrate an intellectual and emotional commitment to the college's mission. Importantly, the selected candidate will articulate the values of liberal arts, career and technical pursuits, and adult education learning. The successful candidate must meet the attributes and experiences that follow:

 

· Transformative administrative style at the senior level with a vision for the long-term success of WWC;

· Skilled financial manager with a record of success in finances, budget allocation, and resource generation;

· Commitment to a student-centered focus on access, retention, and positive outcomes as a student success advocate;

· Background in institutionalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in policies, procedures, and practices toward full social justice in a supportive environment;

· Successful work with accrediting bodies and institutional reviews;

· Significant enrollment knowledge and ability to be a growth manager;

· Knowledge of and success with sound strategic planning and clear decision making;

· Practitioner of collaborative leadership and tenets of shared governance;

· Entrepreneurial, innovative pursuit of new ideas and advancements through technology and technological education;

· Champion of WWC in partnership with all stakeholders, including state and city governments, businesses, foundations, K-12 programs, the CCC District office, statewide higher education, and grassroots outreach;

· Collaborative, unifying style in support of a collective bargaining environment;

· Track record as an effective communicator and spokesperson with strong oral, written, listening, and interpersonal skills;

· Experience as a full-time teacher and/or administrator in a two-year college (preferred);

· Earned doctorate from a regionally accredited institution of higher education (preferred); and

· Master's degree required.

 

The President of Wilbur Wright College must be a resident of the city of Chicago.

 

APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS

 

The City Colleges of Chicago will identify a caring thought leader who is able to lead change while uplifting a culture of community in the college, the city of Chicago, and throughout the college's Northwest Side, Humboldt Park, and adjacent neighborhoods. The new president will work toward realizing City Colleges' vision "to be recognized as the city's most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity – empowering all Chicagoans to take part in building a stronger and more just city."

 

Applications should be received by March 29, 2024, and must include the following: a letter of interest (not more than three pages); a current résumé (or curriculum vitae); and the names of five professional references with each person's position, office or home address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers. References will not be contacted without prior authorization. It is anticipated that the new President will be selected by May 2024.

 

Application materials should be submitted in PDF format through the AGB Search portal at: Wilbur Wright College - President.

 

Nominations, expressions of interest, or questions regarding the application process should be directed to wilburwrightpresident@agbsearch.com or to the AGB Search team:

 

James McCormick, Senior Executive Search Consultant

jim.mccormick@agbsearch.com / 651-238-5188

 

Janice Fitzgerald, Senior Executive Search Consultant

janice.fitzgerald@agbsearch.com / 717-580-0663

 

Additional information about the City Colleges of Chicago and Wilbur Wright College may be found at www.ccc.edu.

 

 

It is against the law for City Colleges as a recipient of Federal financial assistance to discriminate on the following bases against any individual in the United States, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or belief; and against any beneficiary of programs financially assisted under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), on the basis of the beneficiary's citizenship/status as a lawfully admitted immigrant authorized to work in the United States, or his or her participation in any WIA Title I-financially assisted program or activity.