Executive Director, Miller National Academy for Free Expression & Pluralism

University of Denver•Denver, CO

9d•$225,000 - $375,000

About The Position

The University of Denver seeks a founding Executive Director to lead the Miller National Academy for Free Expression and Pluralism, a new initiative dedicated to strengthening civil discourse, pluralism, and free expression in American public life. At a time of profound polarization and declining trust across institutions, the Miller National Academy is designed to connect ideas to action—bringing together leaders from civic, nonprofit, media, business, philanthropic, and educational communities to model how disagreement can be principled, rigorous, and constructive. Housed at the University of Denver and national in scope, the Academy will combine scholarly insight with real-world leadership, serving both the campus community and a broad public audience. The Executive Director will build and lead the Miller National Academy as a visible, influential, and financially sustainable institution. Working in close partnership with a distinguished Academic Director (reporting to the Executive Director)—who will provide academic leadership and guide scholarly engagement—the Executive Director will focus on strategy, growth, fundraising, public engagement, and national positioning. DU is looking for someone to be the founding executive director who brings a passion for the mission of free speech and pluralism, an entrepreneurial spirit, and experience bringing together staff, scholars, funders, and other contributors to advance important initiatives. The Miller National Academy of Free Expression and Pluralism at the University of Denver will have as its stated mission to foster a culture that encourages students, faculty and staff to embrace the values of free expression, civil discourse, and pluralism, as the DU community engages with a diverse set of some of the country's most prominent scholars and practitioners. Co-curricular and faculty-driven experiences on free expression and pluralism will be part of every DU student’s experience; grant funding will be available to support internal and external research projects dedicated to free expression; and visiting faculty and speakers will be given a platform to share their experiences and expertise. The Miller National Academy will expand its reach beyond the university community, with a focus on turning theory and thinking into action by, for example, launching a Scholars-in-Residence program to host leading thinkers/researchers, convening an Annual Summit on Pluralism, developing K-12 pedagogy, and offering opportunities to the corporate community to engage more deeply in pluralism and principled disagreement—among other initiatives.

Requirements

Senior leadership experience in a mission-driven organization, company, university, or major initiative–with experience in public policy and media a major plus.
Entrepreneurial mindset.
Deep commitment to free expression, pluralism, and constructive civic (and civil) discourse.
Demonstrated success in fundraising, partnership development, and/or revenue growth.
Strong public presence and credibility with external stakeholders.
Experience building and leading organizations, programs, or national initiatives.
Demonstrated ability to build initiatives that achieve credibility and influence beyond a single institution or community.
Understanding of the ecosystem and culture of a university—and ability to diplomatically navigate its corridors.
Ability to operate effectively in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Responsibilities

Set and execute a clear strategic vision that establishes the Miller National Academy as a nationally recognized platform for advancing free expression and pluralism.
Build organizational infrastructure, governance, and staffing to support long-term growth and impact.
Work closely with the Provost, Chancellor, and Advisory Board with counsel from the Academic Director on strategic priorities and institutional direction.
Provide leadership on campus by working with students, faculty, and administrators to advance a culture of free expression and pluralism.
Ensure the Academy’s work is meaningfully integrated into university life while maintaining a clear outward-facing posture.
Serve as a visible and trusted leader within the DU community and nationally.
Lead a comprehensive fundraising effort to raise $75–100 million over 5–7 years.
Cultivate and steward relationships with major donors, foundations, and institutional partners.
Serve as the primary external representative of the Academy to donors, media, partners, and national audiences.
Oversee the development of high-impact programs, convenings, and initiatives that translate ideas into practice.
Engage prominent voices across sectors, including journalism, nonprofit leadership, business, philanthropy, and civic life.
Design programs that are rooted at DU but built for national reach, ensuring the Academy contributes meaningfully to public discourse.
Oversee an Academic Director, to be determined after the Executive Director has been named, who will help lead academic content, research integration, and faculty engagement.
Ensure strong alignment between scholarly work and public-facing initiatives, with clear distinction of roles and responsibilities.
Recruit, lead, and manage a high-performing, mission-driven team.
Oversee budgeting, operations, reporting, and compliance in alignment with university policies.
Foster a strong organizational culture aligned with the Academy’s mission and values.