Job Description

Boston University (BU) seeks an outstanding individual with exceptional academic, administrative, strategic, and interpersonal capabilities to join the University’s senior academic leadership team as Vice President and Associate Provost for Research (VPAPR). The VPAPR is the senior officer with responsibility for assuring that BU can support extramurally funded research leading to exceptional scholarship and impact aligned with the goals in the University’s strategic plan.

Boston University, a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), is one of the leading private research and teaching institutions in the world, located in the heart of Boston and spanning campuses in the Kenmore Square neighborhood and the Medical Campus in the South End. Chartered in 1869, the University today enrolls over 37,000 students including over 11,600 graduate and professional students and employs over 3,700 faculty across 17 schools and colleges. Boston University is the fourth largest private university in the United States and one of the Boston area’s largest employers. The growth of Boston University over the last quarter century is profound, as it has evolved into an internationally recognized research university that attracted more than $600 million for sponsored research in 2024 across both the Charles River and Medical campuses.

Reporting to the University Provost and Chief Academic Officer, the VPAPR leads the Office of Research and oversees sponsored programs, research development, research compliance, technology development, and industry engagement. The VPAPR also provides oversight and periodic assessment of existing and proposed university-wide interdisciplinary research centers.

Working closely with the Provost and President, the next VPAPR will support the University’s plan to expand its research enterprise substantially. The VPAPR cultivates multidisciplinary groups of faculty from across the institution to dream big and coalesce around bold, new ideas that can attract substantial support for training and research and promise outcomes that will improve society. The Office of Research provides support for major infrastructure and center proposals such as training grants, Engineering and Scientific Research Centers, MURI’s, Major Instrumentation Grants, and others. The Office also oversees processes for limited submission opportunities and for proposals requiring institutional cost share.

Required Skills

The successful candidate for this position will be a strategic leader, as well as a creative and innovative builder and collaborator. Candidates should have:

• Significant leadership experience in research administration.
• A demonstrated record of research and scholarship at a high level.
• The ability to represent the research vision, strategies, goals, and needs of the enterprise internally, nationally, and internationally.
• Significant experience in the development of cross-disciplinary research ventures.
• Demonstrated ability to foster strong collaborations with deans, administrators, and faculty, as well as government, industry, community constituents, and peer institutions.
• An understanding of the needs of research faculty at all levels, and to effectively support their research, goals, and objectives.
• Demonstrated experience with interpreting and managing complex agreements and authoring successful extramural research initiatives.
• Strong understanding of research financial management, including budgeting and compliance.
• Knowledge of sponsored program operations, including research development, pre-award proposal support, and post-award grant management, and familiarity with federal agency and foundation support programs.
• Experience in technology development, patents and licensing, and industry engagement with academia.

The successful candidate will have a doctorate with at least 5-10 years of experience in research administration or leadership roles within a university or research focused institution. The VPAPR will be a member of the faculty and eligible for consideration for a tenured appointment in the appropriate school/college.

Compensation

Boston University will provide a competitive compensation and benefits package appropriate for a position of this scope, stature, and level of responsibility.

Contact

Exceptional candidates are encouraged to submit a confidential letter of interest and resume to:

Sarah Flanagan

Executive Assistant to the Provost

Office of the University Provost

One Silber Way, 8th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02215 [email protected]

For more information about Boston University please visit Boston University is committed to fostering a diverse University community within a supportive and respectful environment. We believe that faculty diversity is essential to our success as a leading research university with a global reach, and that diversity is an integral component of faculty excellence.

Boston University is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy, or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. Boston University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

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