Assistant Vice President, Health and Wellness.
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York 14260
Job Description
Assistant Vice President, Health & Wellness
The University at Buffalo (UB) is seeking a visionary college health and wellness leader to serve as its inaugural Assistant Vice President, Health & Wellness (AVP). Reporting to the Vice President for Student Life, the AVP will join UB during an exciting time of innovation and growth. The AVP will serve as the primary health advisor, providing leadership, vision, and expert consultation on all matters related to student health and wellness, including an exciting recent expansion that includes financial wellness. As a member of the Student Life leadership team, the AVP will provide strategic leadership to an interdisciplinary portfolio that includes Student Health Services, Counseling Services, and Health Promotion on three campuses, while developing and sustaining collaborative partnerships within the Division and across the University. As an engaged and visible campus leader, the AVP will advocate for student health and wellness, increasing awareness and utilization of resources; managing campus public health emergencies; and assisting with student crises and critical incidents. This new leader will help foster an equitable and inclusive campus, within and outside of the Health and Wellness portfolio, that celebrates the diversity of UB and ensures that programs and services meet the needs of and are accessible to a diverse and evolving student body.
The successful candidate will be a strategic, collaborative, and operationally savvy leader who will oversee health, counseling, and health promotion services and programs on three campuses and engage with multiple stakeholders across the university to meet the health and wellness needs of all students. They will have a deep understanding of collegiate health trends, an established record of effective leadership and supervision of health and wellness staff, a collaborative mindset with an ability to quickly build relationships at all levels of an organization, and reliant on data to drive decision-making. The AVP must exhibit strong emotional intelligence and the ability to ensure services are responsive and inclusive to the evolving needs of an everchanging student body, with a focus on equity and inclusivity in leading, assessing, and continuously improving programs and services that contribute to all students' ability to be personally and academically successful at UB. Additionally, the AVP should bring strong financial and administrative skills, familiarity with space planning and facilities management, and health related policy development experience.
As the State University of New York's flagship University, UB is touted as one of the most exceptional and affordable universities in the country. Highly ranked for health research and entrepreneurship, it serves a diverse student body of over 30,000 students on three campuses that include an undergraduate hub on its North campus and graduate and professional schools in health sciences and architecture on its South and Downtown campuses—each of which offers health, counseling, and health promotion resources to its students. Called "one of America's best kept secrets," Buffalo offers the UB community access to a vibrant and cultural city with a reasonable cost of living and access to beautiful outdoor recreation and tourist destinations.
Primary Responsibilities
• Provide strategic leadership and innovative vision to Student Health Services, Counseling Services, and Health Promotion to foster student health and wellbeing for a diverse student body of over 30,000 students on three campuses.
• Utilize assessment practices and data for continuous quality improvement of university programs, services, education, and awareness, to meet the wellness needs of all UB students.
• Develop and sustain collaborative partnerships with local and regional community partners, other divisions, departments, academic units (i.e., Intramurals and Recreation, Department of Health Science, Athletics, etc.), administrative leaders, faculty, and students to enhance wellbeing on campus.
• Oversee financial and administrative performance of the health and wellness portfolio; responsible for the preparation of the portfolio's annual budget submission and ensuring resource allocation aligns with strategic direction of health and wellness efforts.
• Foster an equitable and inclusive campus that celebrates the diversity of the university community, and ensuring programs and services are known and utilized throughout the entire university community.
• Advance campus health and wellness support resources to meet the changing needs of students and working to ensure these programs, resources, and services are known and utilized throughout the entire university community.
• Assist in the management of student crises and critical incidents on campus.
Divisional Leadership (25%)
• Provide divisional and campus leadership on health and wellness related issues, serving as the VPSL's designee on key initiatives.
• Advise and partner with senior leadership on public health emergencies and other critical health issues that impact the university.
• Partner with student service, administrative, and academic leaders to enhance health wellness policies, environments, cultures, practices, programs, and services, for students, faculty, and staff.
• Serve as a campus expert for UB on medical, mental health, health insurance, and student health issues and on university committees.
• Provide innovative vision, strategic leadership, administration, and management to Student Health Services, Counseling Services, and Health Promotion.
Strategic Planning and Direction (25%)
• Lead strategic planning efforts, engage stakeholders throughout the Health & Wellness portfolio, and ensure alignment with division and institutional priorities.
• Monitor and report on progress towards goals, ongoing assessment of students' needs, and regular evaluation of programs and services; utilize results to inform decision-making.
• Provide recommendations to the VPSL on matters related to student health.
Collaborative Partnerships (25%)
• Initiate collaborative partnerships and practices to strengthen ability to meet students' health and wellness needs.
• Coordinate with faculty and staff across campus to improve awareness and support for student health and wellness in and out of the classroom.
• Collaborate with the Office of Financial Aid to enhance the Financial Wellness program within Health Promotion
• Work closely with student organizations and affinity groups across campus to ensure support, inclusivity, and awareness of resources, programs, and services for diverse students at UB.
• Serve as a liaison with the campus and community public health agencies and local health care providers.
• Assist with the campus coordination of health-related emergency response.
• Strategically partner with a wide range of departments across the university to promote and integrate wellness opportunities and programming.
Administrative Responsibilities (25%)
• Effectively lead, develop, and provide support to Directors within the portfolio, including but not limited to performance management, professional development and planning utilizing university systems and tools.
• Facilitate the development and administration of financial resources for Student Health Services, Counseling Services, and health Promotion in collaboration with Student Life Finance to ensure compliance and fiscal responsibility.
• Develop, manage and steward work force planning in collaboration with Directors and Student Life Human Resources and Finance.
Required Qualifications
• Terminal Degree in health and wellness related field.
• A minimum of 10 years of related experience in higher education health and wellness positions or other professional setting with progressively increasing responsibilities.
• Demonstrated record of leading innovative health and wellness efforts in a higher education setting and evaluating the success of these efforts to continuously improve.
• Proven ability to develop campus-wide programs and services focusing on student wellness, utilizing the latest trends and proven practices in higher education student wellbeing.
• Demonstrated experience in support of a diverse working environment dedicated to principles of social justice, inclusivity, and equity.
• Organizational skills to set goals, prioritize assignments, monitor performance, and exceed set expectations and deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience with financial oversight.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating with campus partners within and outside of Student Life.
• Strong oral and written communication skills with experience creating and delivering presentations to small and large diverse groups.
Preferred Qualifications (in addition to above)
• Multiple organizational perspectives and experiences highly valued.
• Experience with change management.
• Understanding of space and facilities design and management.
• Experience with student financial wellness initiatives.
Application Process
The University at Buffalo has partnered with Keeling & Assistants (K&A) in this search process. Interested applicants must send a resume and cover letter, preferably in PDF format, to recruiting@keelingassociates.com. The subject line of the email should read "UB—AVP Health & Wellness." Confidential inquiries and nominations should be addressed to LeAnna Rice at the address above. A confidential review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the appointment is made. All materials submitted by October 7, 2025 will be given full consideration.
EEO Statement
The University at Buffalo is committed to championing all aspects of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within our community. This commitment is a fundamental value of the University and is crucial in helping us advance our mission, which includes attracting and retaining diverse workforces. We will continue to create and maintain an environment that allows individuals to discover, belong, contribute, and grow, while honoring the experiences, perspectives, and unique identities of all.
The University at Buffalo is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and values equality of opportunity, human dignity and diversity. EOE, including disability/vets.
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Date Posted: September 5, 2025