---

THE INSTITUTION

Alderson-Broaddus College is a liberal arts college that has always enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the church.  It is committed to preparing graduates for a life that integrates faith, learning, and professional competency. Consequently, all academic programs are combined with a strong liberal arts curriculum which develops effective communication skills, critical thinking skills, engagement with diverse communities, multi-cultural and historical literacy, and the ability to make judgments and choices that are ethically informed and respectful of every person. Accomplishing these goals enables graduates to be responsible and productive contributors in their vocational, intellectual, cultural, social, and spiritual lives.

Broaddus College was founded in 1871 by Edward Jefferson Willis, a lawyer and Baptist Minister in Virginia, who named it for the Reverend Mr. William Francis Ferguson Broaddus, a tireless Baptist minister during the Civil War.  It soon moved to West Virginia and in 1932 merged with the Alderson Academy, founded by Miss Emma Alderson, to become Alderson-Broaddus College, a college of arts, sciences, and special professional and pre-professional programs.  

Today, the College is distinctive as a liberal arts college with a commitment to health-related and professional education and is the only institution of higher education in West Virginia related to the American Baptist Churches/USA and the West Virginia Baptist Convention.  The campus sits on a mountain top overlooking the picturesque Tygart River Valley in the historic town of Philippi, West Virginia. 

Alderson-Broaddus College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, with program accreditations from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council, the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc., and the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.

A member of Division II of the NCAA and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, the college fields 10 teams for the Battlers and has built a history of success, academically as well as on the field.  Students interested in debate or music have opportunities to participate in groups with a long history of success at the College.  The West Virginians, one of the school’s music groups, serves as the official ambassadors for the school and the state of West Virginia.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Alderson-Broaddus College has over 600 undergraduates and more than 100 graduate students.  It offers an exceptional opportunity for its next president, due to the solid academic and financial foundation that has been strengthened during the thirteen year administration of President Stephen Markwood, who is retiring at the end of June, 2008.

The College capital campaign, Renewing the Promise, is projected to exceed its $15 million goal by more than 30% upon its completion in 2008. The annual budget is $18 million, the endowment is $18 million, and the long-term debt is under $2 million.  

Alderson-Broaddus College is committed to serving the region as an academic, cultural, and religious resource.  In 1945, Alderson-Broaddus developed the first four-year nursing and the first radiologic technology programs in West Virginia.  In 1968, the College pioneered the nation's first four-year physician assistant program, an innovation that has had enormous influence on the development of the physician assistant profession nationwide.  The College's first graduate degree offering, the Master of Medical Science for Certified Physician Assistants, became an integral part of the program in 1991.

Academic innovation is an enduring feature of Alderson-Broaddus.  Since 1998, Alderson-Broaddus has developed academic programs in visual arts, family studies, musical arts, athletic training, creative writing, recreational sports management, and RN-BSN and LPN-BSN degree completion programs for nurses, and has partnered with Arellano University in Manila, Philippines to create a unique International Nursing Program.  In addition, the entry-level Physician Assistant program was elevated from a bachelor’s program to a master’s program, and the Computer Science program was redesigned to offer students concentrations in four different areas of computing, including software engineering.  Even with the addition and redesign of these programs, Alderson-Broaddus has been able to creatively focus its human and financial resources on academic areas of strength and reduce the total number of academic offerings by 30%.

The President is appointed by and reports to a 38 member Board of Trustees, with one half nominated by the West Virginia Baptist Convention. There are three classes of twelve, with two ex-officio members. Trustees may serve three consecutive, three-year terms. 100% of the Board has given to the capital campaign and to the annual fund. The current senior staff consists of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; Vice President for Assessment, Planning, and Technology; Vice President for Business and Finance; Vice President for Advancement; and Vice President for Student Services/Enrollment Management.

A leading priority for the new president will be assessing and refining the strategic direction of the College. Planning for a new five-year Strategic Plan is underway and the incoming president will play a major role in its completion. This will include enhancing academic offerings and enrollment management, developing financial and human resources, strengthening church and local relationships, improving facilities, and assuring that the College continues to create success for students, faculty, and staff in a caring community.

 

THE CANDIDATE

The new president should be an accomplished leader who will promote the dynamic relationship between Christian faith and academic excellence, and be a role model for every constituency of the College. Candidates should have a deep Christian faith and live a spiritually-based lifestyle that influences both personal and professional decisions and actions.  An American Baptist is preferred.

The IDEAL candidate will have:

1. A profound understanding of the mission of the College, the will to embrace it, and the ability to articulate it with passion
2. An earned academic doctorate with college teaching experience, appropriate scholarly accomplishments, and a commitment to academic excellence
3. Successful experience as a senior-line administrator/leader in higher education, including direct responsibility for the performance of other academic leaders, with a collaborative and inclusive spirit, sincerely open to considering the views of others, yet willing to make decisions
4. Successful experience in financial matters with the skill to effectively create, implement, and monitor budgets
5. The vision, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit to enhance student enrollment and to lead in strategic planning for the future
6. Evidence of the desire and capacity to develop financial and human resources
7. Successful experience with multiple accrediting organizations

Goals for the new president include:

1. Expanding and strengthening the core programs in health-related and professional education while maintaining roots in the liberal arts and assuring academic excellence
2. Enhancing academic quality while expanding needed resources for all students, especially those who may be academically under-prepared, as well as those who have limited financial means
3. Strengthening internal relationships and communications with students, staff, faculty, academic departments, athletics, and other campus organizations
4. Strengthening external relationships and communications with the American Baptist Churches/USA, the West Virginia Baptist Convention, the local and regional communities, alumni, trustees, benefactors, student recruiting sources, national academic organizations, regulatory bodies, and churches
5. Assuming leadership and providing vision in finalizing the Strategic Plan for 2008 - 2013, which is currently underway
6. Continuing focus on enrollment planning, annual and major giving, and  preparing for the next capital campaign
7. Demonstrating respect for academic freedom, shared governance, and a comprehensive understanding of and a commitment to high quality undergraduate and graduate studies

Please direct inquiries, nominations and expressions of interest to jma@jonmcrae.com.