In the search for a vice chancellor for inclusive strategy and chief of staff, UCCS is hosting three forums this week to give candidates the opportunity to share more about themselves. The Dec. 10 forum introduced Alphonso Atkins Jr. as the first candidate.
According to the job description posted on the CU Careers website, the Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Strategy and Chief of Staff will be acting as a campus-wide resource for advancing the university’s mission and inclusive strategic goals. As it is an inaugural position, the person selected will shape the future of the department. The position will be paid an annual salary of $160,000-$200,000.
The new position is part of a merger that UCCS started during the summer to save an estimate of $400,000 a year, according to previous Scribe reporting. The title combines what used to be two positions, which Atkins said will make it more effective and add to inclusivity on campus.
Atkins most recently served as the inaugural deputy director for diversity, equity, inclusion and access at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Beyond that, he’s worked closely with multiple universities in positions that focus on diversity and inclusion.
He was the regional diversity officer at Ivy Tech Community College, the director of institutional equity at the Community College of Rhode Island and chief diversity officer and special assistant to the chancellor for equity and inclusion at the University of South Carolina Upstate.
If selected, Atkins plans to use similar strategies for diversity and inclusivity that he’s done for these institutions, saying that when he is given an initiative, he finds a way to achieve that goal. For UCCS, this may be helping Student Life with issues related to commuter students. Whatever it is, Atkins is confident that he can be the change that UCCS needs.
Atkins cited his experience helping restructure student and staff relations in places of need at each of these institutions. At ITCC, there was a major decline in minority male enrollment, so he established Project VOICE Minority Male Initiative, which created community spaces like podcast studios and free speech zones to boost enrollment.
“What I was charged with doing by the chancellor was developing a minority male initiative that could somehow increase the retention of minority men but also the persistence of those men as they matriculated toward their two-year degrees and, hopefully, internal transfers. We were able to do that successfully,” he said.
At USC, Atkins said there was a low sense of belonging and inadequate student services, which pushed him to create and implement the Impact Agenda. The program raised the universities economic impact from $300 million to $506 million in one academic year.
“The Impact Agenda brought higher employee retention goals. We had higher employee performance measures, which led to this really robust commitment by faculty and staff to education,” said Atkins.
The search committee is accepting feedback forms for each candidate. The forms are due by Dec. 17 by 5 p.m. and will inform the committee’s decision.
The next forum for candidate Robin Parent will be Dec. 12 from 5-6 p.m. via Zoom. Parent’s forum was planned for Dec. 9 but was rescheduled due to inclement weather. The final forum for candidate Bettina Moore will be Dec. 13 from 3-4 p.m. in UC 303 or via livestream.
This article is the first edition of a three-part series for the Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Strategy and Chief of Staff forums. Click here for the second article about candidate Robin Parent and here for the final article about candidate Bettina Moore.
Alphonso Atkins Jr. gives a presentation at the Dec. 10 vice chancellor for inclusive strategy and chief of staff forum. Photo by Logan Cole.