
Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Retention Management
Application deadline: October 10, 2025
Senior Consultant: Gabriel Esteban
gabriel.esteban@academicsearch.org
Senior Consultant: Mary Kennard
mary.kennard@academicsearch.org
Search Manager: Kristin McClanahan
kristin.mcclanahan@academicsearch.org
University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) seeks a Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Retention Management (VCERM) to join its leadership team. The ideal VCERM is a strategic leader who can help promote an excellent working environment through strong collaboration and a commitment to UIS’s mission, vision, and values. This critical role is responsible for providing vision and strategic direction in the development, implementation, and management of a comprehensive enrollment strategy with a primary charge to grow enrollment in a sustainable manner.
Established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly, UIS became the newest member of the University of Illinois system on July 1, 1995. UIS is dedicated to fully engaging students in the process of active teaching and learning. UIS offers degrees that are relevant to students’ personal and professional success across a lifetime and provides students with a distinctive academic experience through a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching, research, and outreach. Located six miles southeast of the Illinois State Capitol, the campus occupies 740 acres of prairie land adjacent to Lake Springfield.
The VCERM reports directly to the Chancellor and leads a team of more than 50 full-time professionals responsible for all aspects of student recruitment, admissions processing, data analysis and systems, records and registration, and financial aid. The Vice Chancellor also leads and shapes the university’s strategy on retention in collaboration with Academic Affairs and Student Affairs.
A successful applicant will be an experienced administrator with proven leadership skills, including substantial and progressive administrative experience at an organization of similar (or larger) size and complexity to UIS. Additionally, a strong candidate will understand strategic enrollment management at the undergraduate and graduate levels including online learning and hybrid modalities.
The full position and institutional profile is available at the link above.
The Search Committee will begin reviewing candidates in early October with priority consideration given to materials received by October 10, 2025.
A complete application includes (as three separate pdfs):
1) a letter of intent addressing how the candidate’s experiences match the position requirements;
2) a current CV/resume; and
3) contact information and a brief explanation of the candidate’s working relationship for five references. References will not be contacted without the approval of the candidate.
Academic Search Senior Consultants, Gabriel Esteban and Mary Kennard, are assisting the University of Illinois Springfield in this search. Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be submitted, in confidence, to VCERM_UIS@academicsearch.org. Nominations should include the nominee’s full name, title, and email address.