Vice Provost for Research/Chief Research Officer

Job Summary

East Tennessee State University (ETSU) invites applications and nominations for its next Vice Provost for Research and Chief Research Officer (VPR/CRO). Reporting directly to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the VPR/CRO serves on the President’s Cabinet, the Provost’s Leadership Team, and University Council, providing visibility and access to institutional decision-making.

The VPR/CRO will lead implementation and assessment of ETSU’s FY2027–FY2031 Research Strategic Plan and advance research, scholarship, creative activity, sponsored programs, and innovation across all academic disciplines. In collaboration with campus leaders, faculty, staff, and external partners, the VPR/CRO will:

• Increase external funding, faculty research competitiveness, interdisciplinary collaboration, and scholarly impact.
• Oversee pre-award and post-award research administration, research integrity, compliance, security, and support operations; serve as the authorized institutional official for sponsored programs.
• Manage the office and reporting-unit budgets, guide internal research investments, oversee reporting centers and institutes, and strengthen research infrastructure and administrative capacity.
• Expand undergraduate and graduate research engagement and develop high-performing research administration and compliance teams.
• Strengthen clinical and translational research, clinical trials where appropriate, external partnerships, technology transfer, and innovation with regional and national impact.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

The successful candidate will build trust through accessible, collaborative, and decisive leadership; communicate effectively as a university spokesperson; demonstrate financial acumen and ethical judgment; and make strategic choices that balance research ambitions with institutional resources. The leader must support the full breadth of research, scholarship, and creative activity and connect research priorities with ETSU’s public mission.

Required Qualifications

• An earned terminal degree or equivalent combination of advanced education and substantial relevant professional experience appropriate for senior research leadership.
• Significant, progressively responsible leadership experience in research, sponsored programs, research administration, academic research leadership, or a closely related area.
• First-hand experience competing for external funding and a record of success in securing sponsored support.
• Demonstrated knowledge of faculty and staff research needs, including experience supporting faculty research productivity and competitiveness.
• Knowledge of university research regulatory, compliance, integrity, security, and administrative responsibilities, including familiarity with intellectual property and technology transfer.
• Demonstrated experience building productive relationships across organizational and disciplinary boundaries, with exceptional interpersonal, communication, and collaborative leadership skills.
• Evidence of effective leadership of people, programs, budgets, and organizational change, demonstrated through team development, responsible resource management, and improvements to research programs, services, or administrative processes.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience leading research in a comprehensive public, regional public, R2, R1, academic health, governmental, or similarly complex environment; implementing research strategy with measurable results; strengthening faculty funding competitiveness; and developing interdisciplinary initiatives and external partnerships. Additional preferred strengths include health-related research and health-system partnerships; innovation, commercialization, and university-industry collaboration; high-performing research administration; and support for student research, scholarship, and creative activity across disciplines.

Compensation & Benefits

• Job Family – Academic Administrator 5
• Starting Salary: MR 18  Salary Schedules
• For information on benefits please visit www.etsu.edu/human-resources/benefits/.

Application Instructions

• Documents Needed:
  • Please include a CV or Resume AND
  • A letter of interest describing qualifications, leadership experience and interest in the position.
• Exempt positions are only required to be posted for a minimum of fourteen (14) calendar days. The closing date for this posting is subject to change without notice to applicants.
• Application review will begin on November 30, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. 
• Employment contingent on a satisfactory background check. 
• For more information about the search, as well as a complete position profile, please click here.

ETSU is an equal opportunity employer.

University Overview

East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is an institution with over 14,000 diverse students highly ranked graduate and undergraduate programs. Located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Tennessee, ETSU serves as a hub for community, discovery, and service. Aligned with the institution's mission, we value efforts to engage in teaching, scholarship, creative activities, and service that involve community partners and address significant societal needs in our region and beyond. Recognized in 2024 as a Great College to Work For, recent strategic initiatives prioritize the institution’s focus on community engagement.

Disclaimer: The Job Summary is intended to describe the general nature and level of work individuals perform in this classification. It is not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Management reserves the right to revise the job or require different tasks to be performed as assigned to reflect changes in the position. Employees must be able to perform the position's essential functions satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations.