Boston University (BU) seeks an outstanding individual with exceptional academic, administrative, strategic, and interpersonal capabilities to join the University’s senior academic leadership team as Vice President and Associate Provost for Research (VPAPR). The VPAPR is the senior officer with responsibility for assuring that BU can support extramurally funded research leading to exceptional scholarship and impact aligned with the goals in the University’s strategic plan.

Boston University, a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), is one of the leading private research and teaching institutions in the world, located in the heart of Boston and spanning campuses in the Kenmore Square neighborhood and the Medical Campus in the South End. Chartered in 1869, the University today enrolls over 37,000 students including over 11,600 graduate and professional students and employs over 3,700 faculty across 17 schools and colleges. Boston University is the fourth largest private university in the United States and one of the Boston area’s largest employers. The growth of Boston University over the last quarter century is profound, as it has evolved into an internationally recognized research university that attracted more than $600 million for sponsored research in 2024 across both the Charles River and Medical campuses.

Reporting to the University Provost and Chief Academic Officer, the VPAPR leads the Office of Research and oversees sponsored programs, research development, research compliance, technology development, and industry engagement. The VPAPR also provides oversight and periodic assessment of existing and proposed university-wide interdisciplinary research centers.

Working closely with the Provost and President, the next VPAPR will support the University’s plan to expand its research enterprise substantially. The VPAPR cultivates multidisciplinary groups of faculty from across the institution to dream big and coalesce around bold, new ideas that can attract substantial support for training and research and promise outcomes that will improve society. The Office of Research provides support for major infrastructure and center proposals such as training grants, Engineering and Scientific Research Centers, MURI’s, Major Instrumentation Grants, and others. The Office also oversees processes for limited submission opportunities and for proposals requiring institutional cost share.