Vice President for Finance and Administration

(Chief Financial Officer)

Position Description

AN OVERVIEW

The Institution

Wesleyan University was established in 1831. A small, nonsectarian and coeducational liberal arts and sciences university, it is among the most selective liberal arts institutions in the country and maintains the research facilities, instructional caliber, and faculty usually found only at larger universities.

Wesleyan has 2,700 full-time resident undergraduate students, roughly half male and half female, from 48 states, the District of Columbia, and 45 foreign countries. The Class of 2009 is one of the most selective in Wesleyan's history, with 6,879 applications received for an entering class of 715. Over 70 percent of incoming students graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. Additionally, there are more than 180 full-time graduate students in the natural sciences, mathematics, and ethnomusicology. The university's curriculum offers more than 900 courses in 39 departments and 44 major fields of study. Wesleyan grants the bachelor of arts, as well as master's degrees in six disciplines and doctoral degrees in six.

Of the more than 300 faculty members, all teach undergraduates while remaining active as scholars and researchers. The student-faculty ratio is 9:1. In the 2004/2005 academic year, Wesleyan faculty were awarded $10.7 million in highly competitive fellowships and grants for their research and scholarship.

The President

Douglas J. Bennet, a Wesleyan alumnus with a doctorate in Russian medieval history, became Wesleyan's 15^th president in 1995. Since his arrival, the institution has embarked on a comprehensive strategic planning process, which resulted first in Strategy for Wesleyan (1998) and more recently in Engaged with the World (2005), which identify specific goals and objectives for multi-year periods. Work continues toward the accomplishment of these goals, as well as corresponding measures and targets.

"When I got to Wesleyan in 1995, it was clear that Wesleyan, along with the rest of higher education, was at a point where we needed to reexamine our business to be sure that what we're doing is still valid, especially going into the age of information technology and distance learning. ... [T]he most important action items have been curricular reform, improvements in student life, and a considerable improvement in the returns from the endowment. We have identified eight capabilities we want our students to acquire. We have recommitted ourselves to need-blind admissions. We will continue to strive to be a diverse community. The academic plan came first for us because academic excellence is the core of this enterprise. We now also have a very solid 10-year financial projection that enables us to see the long-term effect of today's choices. And we have a complete facilities plan-Wesleyan's first in a century."

"Ours is an important initiative in higher education at a crucial time. Our purpose is clear, and we have mobilized our existing resources to achieve it. Support from individuals who value this mission will make a critical difference in the sustainability of these reforms. ... We are asking people to invest in us, and we are going to handle their resources well because we measure up."

Douglas J. Bennet, A President's Reckoning: Excellence at Wesleyan University

President Bennet followed a nontraditional route to the university's presidency. He has dedicated his career to serving others in a variety of public service and educationally related positions. These include aide to three senators, assistant to a U.S. vice president, head of the Agency for International Development, and assistant secretary of state for international-organization affairs under President Clinton. From 1983 to 1993, he served as president of National Public Radio.   He was recruited to orchestrate a dramatic turnaround at the near-bankrupt organization.  He succeeded in tripling listenership and almost doubling the number of member stations while raising funds to end its near total dependency on federal money.

Wesleyan Finances

Wesleyan has achieved balanced budgets for the past 13 years and enjoys an AA bond rating. The current annual budget is $136 million and the market value of the endowment at June 30, 2005 was $565 million. Giving to the institution exceeded  $31.3 million for the most recent fiscal year, the highest in Wesleyan's history. Tuition, fees, room and board are $42,122, with 43 percent of students receiving grant aid averaging $24,619. Wesleyan maintains a commitment to need-blind admission with a budget for financial aid totaling $39 million.   A budget summary is attached as Appendix I.  More financial information is available at the Finance and Administration web site at

http://www.wesleyan.edu/finance/financeDept/.  The endowment supports operations, the Wesleyan University press, and the capital budget. The endowment produced a net return of 14.2 percent for the 2004/2005 fiscal year, achieving an institutional goal of maintaining performance in the top quartile of similar schools.

Wesleyan publicly announced a five-year comprehensive campaign in October 2000 with a goal of $250 million for institutional priorities. The campaign ended in January 2005 with over $281 million raised. This campaign effort, Wesleyan's first since 1987, raised the university's annual cash receipts by a factor of three, to over $30 million per year. Alumni participation increased to between 52 and 55 percent annually and during the course of the campaign 70 percent of the alumni participated.

The Campus

Wesleyan is located in Middletown, Connecticut, situated on the Connecticut River midway between Hartford and New Haven. Situated on a 285-acre campus, the university has over 60 buildings supporting academic and student services, including the Andrus Public Affairs Center, Exley Science Center, the Center for the Arts complex, the Freeman Athletic Center, Olin Memorial Library, and the Van Vleck Observatory.  In 2000, the campus grew by 160 acres through the purchase of the adjacent Long Lane parcel that provides land for future expansion.  Wesleyan recently completed a comprehensive campus master plan to guide the current construction program and to guide future campus development.  Currently under construction is the 80,000 square-foot Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center, which will consolidate dining services and provide much needed space for formal and informal interaction between faculty and students at the heart of the historic campus.

THE POSITION

Vice President for Finance and Administration

The Vice President for Finance and Administration is the chief financial officer and will play a central role in helping the institution meet the goals outlined in its most recent strategic plan "Engaged with the World."  The Vice President reports directly to the President and is a member of the senior staff.  The Vice President also serves as Wesleyan's Treasurer, an appointment conferred by the Board of Trustees.  The Vice President works directly with the Board of Trustees and is the senior staff liaison to the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee.  The Vice President works closely with the vice president for investments who also reports directly to the President.  In addition the Vice President attends the Portfolio Subcommittee of the Finance Committee and is a member of the ad hoc Facilities Working Group.

In addition to the Vice President for Finance and Administration, the senior staff of the institution includes the dean of admission and financial aid, the dean of the college, the director of affirmative action, the director of university communications, the vice president for academic affairs and provost, the vice president and secretary, the vice president for university relations, the vice president for information technology, the senior associate provost and dean of continuing studies and the director of board relations.  This leadership team meets weekly with the president to coordinate the day to day management of the university and to oversee long-range planning initiatives.

Reporting to the Vice President are the associate vice president for finance, the associate vice president for human resources, benefits & payroll, the associate vice president for facilities and the director of business & auxiliary services.  The Vice President oversees the director of project coordination for management of administrative systems.  The Vice President also oversees the financial aspects of the university's legal counsel.  The Vice President works closely with the vice president for investment who also reports directly to the President.

The associate vice president for finance, who supervises 15 staff, is responsible for long-range financial planning, budget development and annual budget control activities.  The associate vice president is also responsible for the university's risk management.  This office works closely with senior staff and their departments during budget development.  This office is also responsible for preparing the audited financial statements and the annual financial report.  The office manages all federal, state and foundation grants, manages short term cash needs and prepares all university tax returns.

A new position, the associate vice president for human resources, benefits & payroll has consolidated those functions into one office.   This office, with 12 staff, will be responsible for recruitment, training, labor relations, compensation and benefits.  The office is responsible for providing support to Wesleyan's 570 staff, as well as its faculty and graduate students.  Two units of the Office and Professional Employee's International Union (OPEIU) represent the clerical and physical plant workforce.   The custodial staff who work for a third party vendor are represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the food service workers who work for ARAMARK are represented by Local 217 Hotel & Restaurant Employees Union.  Recently the public safety staff joined the United Federation of Security Officers.  All of the unions are currently under contract.

The associate vice president for facilities is responsible for construction services, physical plant and environmental health and safety.  Construction services provide project management for Wesleyan's building program.  Reporting to the associate vice president is the director of physical plant who is responsible for the day to day operation of Wesleyan's facilities and grounds and also manages the annual cycle of major maintenance.  The associate director of environmental health and safety is responsible for insuring that Wesleyan complies with all state and federal regulations.  Wesleyan recently completed a comprehensive environmental audit that was accepted by the EPA.

Of the 157 employees in this unit, approximately 62, which is about half of the custodial workforce and the entire grounds workforce, are out-sourced.

The director of business & auxiliary services, with a staff of 14, oversees a wide range of services that are provided by out-side contractors, for example the dining program that is under contract with ARAMARK.  Wesleyan recently entered into a contract with Follett to run our university bookstore, Broad Street Books, which also serves the larger Middletown community.  The director oversees Wesleyan's new one-card system, Wescard, which serves as an identification card, debit card and card access to residence halls.  The director also oversees all of Wesleyan's rental properties and real estate transactions.

CHALLENGES

Working closely with administration, faculty, students, staff and the Board of Trustees, the next Vice President for Finance and Administration will be responsible for:

• Budget development and controls;

• Financial and business operations;

• Financial planning and reporting;

• Facilities oversight;

• Auxiliaries and business services; and,

• Human resources (including benefits and payroll).

The key tasks that Wesleyan is eager to achieve under this new Vice President's leadership include:

• The development, in collaboration with the senior staff and the Board of Trustees, of a comprehensive plan that will allow the University to lower its current endowment draw from 7.4% to the Board recommended policy of 5.5%.  The larger draw on the endowment was a strategic decision to finance the facilities program and to take advantage of Wesleyan's debt capacity during a time of historically low interest rates.  The plan to return to a 5.5% draw is currently being evaluated by the Board, and recommendations for a gradual reduction will be discussed and approved by the Board during this fiscal year.  Wesleyan is reducing the endowment draw while the University is in excellent financial health, having concluded a major comprehensive capital campaign that exceeded all goals and reached more than $281 million.

• The area of human resources is undergoing a reorganization that will be examined and implemented during this person's tenure.  It is the University's hope that potential collaborations may be achieved with other areas reporting to this Vice President, without the need for additional FTE's to improve customer service and responsiveness.

• The University has undertaken an ambitious campus master plan that has resulted in both the renovation and the addition of new academic and residential life facilities.  Currently under construction is the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center to be opened in fall 2007.  Challenges for the future include a planned science center beginning in 2010-2011, a University Museum, the renovation of the Davenport Campus Center for the social sciences and an addition to the Center for Film Studies.  Wesleyan is creating an information commons in Olin Memorial Library which will result in a partial renovation.  In the past five years Wesleyan has renovated and built new student housing.  Over the long term the university will need to continue to address residential housing including the need to build replacements for the aging wood frame houses used to house seniors.

• Finally, the University has a very well run and effective area in information technology.  Wesleyan's Information Technology Services has been implementing PeopleSoft/Oracle software in collaboration with the registrar, admission office, human resources, position management and payroll.  University Relations operates on the Millennium  software system.  The only area that has been exempt from updating their reporting systems has been the are that includes financial systems which operates on an aging Financial Resources System (FRS).  It will be important that the new Vice President for Finance and Administration look closely at new software systems for implementation and encourage the utilization of these systems in a way that is neither disruptive nor unnecessarily costly to the University.

QUALIFICATIONS

The next Vice President for Finance and Administration at Wesleyan University should be a person who is:

• Competent and experienced in the areas of finance, technology, and administration;

• Committed to the high ideals and mission of the university and able to appreciate the culture and history of a private residential liberal arts college;

• Able to delegate effectively to a well-trained and highly efficient staff;

• Able to work collaboratively with the other members of senior staff, particularly in related areas;

• A strong, experienced and sophisticated manager who can motivate as well as create and enforce clear management systems, guidelines and policies;

• An outstanding communicator with strong writing and speaking skills;

• An effective, fair, and open negotiator committed to a transparent decision-making process emphasizing consultation and collaboration with faculty, students, staff and the local community;

• Accessible to Board members, students, faculty, staff, and alumni, with an ability to work comfortably in formal and informal settings;

• Willing and able to make difficult, timely and financially responsible decisions;

• Committed to the environmental stewardship of the university;

• Active, energetic, and well-organized;

• Committed to the value of diversity, sensitive to issues of race, ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, and economic diversity;

• Able to demonstrate the highest degree of personal integrity;

• A leader, and in possession of a sense of humor.

COMPENSATION                Competitive and commensurate with experience.

STARTING DATE                July 1, 2006

DEADLINE DATE                Nominations and expressions of interest will continue to be received until a select list of candidates is put

                                                forward for final consideration by the President.  Submissions are encouraged prior to early December.

CONTACT

Shelly Weiss Storbeck

Managing Director and Vice President

A.T. Kearney Education Practice

333 John Carlyle Street

Alexandria, VA  22314

Phone:  (703) 739-4624   Fax: (703) 518-1782

Email (preferred): elaine.lissy@es.atkearney.com

All inquiries, nominations, and applications will be held in strictest confidence.

Additional information about Wesleyan may be found on the University's web site: http://www.wesleyan.edu/.

Wesleyan University is an equal opportunity employer.