Director of Student Retention and Engagement

Position Summary:

The Director of Student Retention and Engagement for the Vanderbilt Divinity School is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing strategies and programs that enhance student engagement and promote retention throughout the student lifecycle. This position plays a key role in developing and implementing policies that impact the overall student experience and collaborates with various departments to create a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters student success, persistence, and community involvement. The Director is responsible for leading the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of student life activities and programming, including New Student Orientation, to promote a sense of community. This position supports the whole student, providing pastoral care and spiritual formation, counseling referral services, academic support, leadership development, and vocational counseling. The  Director serves as the Divinity School’s chief retention officer to further the enrollment goals of the School. Through innovative programming and strategic partnerships, the  Director contributes to the overall mission of the Divinity School, the University, and the broader professional community, positioning the Vanderbilt Divinity School as a leader in student engagement and retention in theological education. The  Director generates a high volume of written material, conceives, initiates, and produces qualitative and quantitative research, and exercises independent judgment and leadership. The position is responsible for prioritizing, supporting, and managing complex projects, initiatives, and work streams that have a school-wide and/or university-wide impact.

This position requires pride of ownership, an unflagging desire to excel at all endeavors, situational awareness, creativity, and indefatigability in delivering and championing ideas, individuals, teams, and work products.

About the Work Unit: 

The Divinity School administrators and staff comprise a team committed to excellence in theological education. From different composite areas: admissions, community life, academics, special programming, communications, theological and religious library resources, and development and alumni relations, each person contributes to an innovative and collegial environment. The unit as a whole is committed to the mission of both the University and the Divinity School. We make equity, diversity, and inclusion a priority from a theological foundation of social justice, and we seek to lead the nation in the care, preparation, and professional qualification of our students to the religious and theological professions. 

In a global and multi-religious world, the Divinity school seeks to fulfill the following objectives: 

• to engage in theological inquiry; 
• to help persons prepare for the practice of Christian ministry and public leadership; 
• to encourage personal and spiritual formation; 
• to prepare agents of social justice; and 
• to educate future scholars and teachers, locally and globally. 

Key Functions and Expected Performance: 

Retention Initiatives – 50%

• Leads the development and execution of a comprehensive student retention and engagement strategy across all Divinity School programs, ensuring alignment with the school’s mission, enrollment goals, and best practices in theological education. 
• Collaborates with faculty, academic affairs, and student support teams to shape policies and strategies that enhance student engagement, persistence, and graduation rates.
• Conducts comprehensive analyses of retention data to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities for improvement, utilizing this data to develop interventions, inform strategy planning and foster collaboration with faculty and staff across all Divinity School programs to enhance student success and retention.
• Develops metrics to assess the effectiveness of retention and engagement initiatives.
• Provides strategic leadership for the VDS Retention Taskforce, co-chairing with the Senior Director of Strategic Enrollment Management, to develop, implement, and assess institutional strategies that drive student success, engagement, retention, and graduation.
• Establishes and directs the Retention Taskforce’s agenda, ensuring alignment with the university’s strategic priorities and long-term student success initiatives.
• Oversees the institutional framework for targeted intervention strategies and escalated cases involving at-risk student populations.
• Oversees academic advising programs to support students’ academic and career goals. 
• Serves as an escalation point for complex or policy-level student concerns and advocates for systemic improvement