°®½´ÊÓƵ

Dear Ms. Kenyon,

Thank you for agreeing to chair the search committee for a key leadership position at °®½´ÊÓƵ. I want to thank you and all the search committee members for accepting my charge to identify a list of acceptable finalists to fill the critically important position of Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer at °®½´ÊÓƵ.

The Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer plays a pivotal role in ensuring °®½´ÊÓƵ’s organizational success by serving as the chief financial officer responsible for the financial integrity of the university. The VPBA will also provide stewardship over facilities operations, financial aid, human resources, and related services.

The Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer provides leadership and oversight for all aspects of the university's financial administration, including financial and related planning; operating and capital budgeting; revenue and expenditure analysis, forecasting and projection; financial and management reporting; payroll and procurement; investments and risk management; as well as accounting compliance obligations and the annual audit of university funds. The Vice President will be expected to collaborate closely with the divisions of Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, and Student Affairs; develop a close working partnership with the Board of Trustees through its business affairs subcommittee; and maintain appropriate financial strategies to ensure the delivery of the university's strategic vision.

I am confident that your committee will help to identify a short list of outstanding individuals, any one of whom could become our next Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer.

To these ends, I would specifically charge you and the committee to:

1. Conduct a national search for the most highly qualified individual who will best fit both the key requirements set forth in the published job description profile, with special focus on the unique characteristics of °®½´ÊÓƵ;
2. Give careful consideration in identifying highly qualified, under-represented minorities and women candidates among those individuals under review for the position;
3. Give priority consideration to those candidates with recent experience in similar positions at institutions of higher education, with special emphasis on those with experience at private, non-profit colleges or universities;
4. Where appropriate, encourage the committee to proactively contact highly qualified individuals whom members may know and recommend for the position; and
5. Develop and maintain a website devoted specifically to the search, with links to important information that will assist in the committee’s recruitment process.

Finally, reflecting the importance of your committee and your role chair, I urge the committee to maintain strict confidentiality regarding all proceedings of the search. Furthermore, as is typical of leadership searches, all communications from the search committee should come from you.

Again, I want to thank you and the other search committee members as you begin the critically important recruitment of the university’s Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer.

Cordially,

Gary A. Olson
President