Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) Ann Arbor, Michigan
Hybrid/Remote | Full-time

The Great Lakes Colleges Association seeks a Senior Program Director to help shape and
lead collaborative academic and administrative initiatives across thirteen liberal arts
colleges in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
This is an opportunity for an experienced higher education leader to work beyond a single
campus to bring faculty and institutions together around shared challenges, facilitating
programs that strengthen academic and administrative leadership, and helping GLCA
colleges respond creatively to a changing higher education landscape.
The Senior Program Director will join a small team and will have significant responsibility
for collaboratively designing, leading, and strengthening programs across the consortium.

What You’ll Do
The Senior Program Director will:

          • Lead faculty and academic leadership initiatives across GLCA’s thirteen member
institutions, sometimes in collaboration with other staff members.
          • Direct the GLCA Academic Leadership Fellows program, a grant-supported initiative
developing the next generation of academic leaders.
          • Convene the GLCA Academic Council to discuss issues important to GLCA faculty
and identify shared priorities.
          • Develop and support faculty and administrative professional development,
including select Communities of Practice and other cross-campus initiatives.
          • Collaboratively design and execute programs, institutes, and convenings that bring
faculty and academic leaders together around important issues in higher education.
          • Contribute to signature GLCA and Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA) programs,
including GLCA Academic Leadership and Innovation (GALI) programs and
international initiatives such as the Global Course Connections program.
          • Build relationships across institutions, connecting people and ideas and identifying
opportunities that individual campuses may not be able to pursue alone.
          • Manage multiple complex projects from idea through execution, including program
design, budgets, communications, logistics, assessment and follow-through.
          • Contribute strategically to the work of GLCA, bringing ideas, judgment and an
understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing liberal arts institutions.

Because GLCA is a small organization, everyone contributes beyond a narrow portfolio and
collaboration across the team is essential to our success. The Senior Program Director
should enjoy both thinking strategically as part of the team and making things happen
individually and in collaboration with others.

Who We’re Looking For
We are seeking someone who understands faculty, academic culture and the distinctive
strengths of liberal arts education and is excited by the possibilities of collaboration across
institutions and collaboration within a small, hard-working team.

Strong candidates will bring:
          • Significant experience as a faculty member or in a faculty-adjacent role such as
faculty development, a teaching and learning center, an associate provost/dean or
other academic administration position.
          • Experience developing, leading, or supporting faculty professional development.
          • A strong understanding of how colleges and universities work and the challenges
facing higher education today.
          • Excellent project management skills and the ability to move several initiatives
forward simultaneously.
          • Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
          • The ability to build trusted relationships with faculty, administrators, and
institutional leaders across different campuses.
          • Intellectual curiosity, sound judgment, flexibility, and a collaborative working style.
          • The ability to work independently while contributing actively to a small team.

A terminal degree (Ph.D., MFA or equivalent) is strongly preferred but not required.

Why GLCA?
GLCA offers an unusual vantage point in higher education: the opportunity to work across
institutions rather than within only one.

The Senior Program Director will have the chance to connect talented people, test new
ideas, build programs with broader reach, and help thirteen institutions learn from one
another and accomplish more by working together.

This position may be particularly attractive to a faculty member or academic administrator
interested in exploring consortium leadership while taking a leave from a current
institution, as well as to candidates seeking a new professional opportunity in collaborative
higher education.

Location and Travel
The position can be largely remote, with periodic travel to the GLCA office in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, for staff meetings, onboarding, and events. The frequency of these on-site
obligations varies depending on the work and may be greater during onboarding or when in
person collaboration is particularly valuable.

The position also requires occasional travel elsewhere for GLCA and GLAA programs,
including some international travel, and participation in evening and weekend events.

Appointment and Compensation
The anticipated start date is July 1, 2027, with the opportunity for a brief transition with the
current Senior Program Director.

The initial appointment runs through June 30, 2029, with the possibility of renewal. A review will occur near the end of the first year.

The anticipated salary range is $90,000–$110,000, depending on experience. GLCA
provides a comprehensive benefits package including health and dental insurance, TIAA
retirement benefits and paid time off.

About GLCA
Founded in 1962, the Great Lakes Colleges Association is a consortium of thirteen liberal
arts colleges in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. GLCA creates opportunities for
its member institutions to collaborate in ways that strengthen teaching, learning,
leadership, and the enduring value of liberal arts education.

GLCA also works internationally through the Global Liberal Arts Alliance, connecting 27
institutions in 14 countries.

We are a small, creative and collaborative organization that values initiative, excellent
work, strong relationships, and different perspectives.

How to Apply
Review of applications will begin October 30, 2026.
Please submit:
          • A resume or curriculum vitae; and
          • A letter describing why this opportunity interests you and the experiences, skills,
and perspectives you would bring to the role.

Send materials to [email protected] with the subject line:
Senior Program Director —LASTNAME.FIRSTNAME

GLCA welcomes candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and invites
diversity in many forms.