Commonwealth University has been searching for a permanent VPFA/CFO. After months of searching, someone has finally been chosen.
The VPFA/CFO Role:
The Vice President for Fiscal Affairs & Chief Financial Officer is a crucial role. The Commonwealth University official site describes it as “The Division of Finance is responsible for the accuracy, integrity and timely reporting of accounting records to our campus community, PASSHE, and external agencies.”
Departments and offices that fall under this division include:
- Financial Services
- Auxiliaries
- Budget Office
- Military / Veteran Students
- Org Management
- Procurement Shared Services
- ROTC
- Student Billing
Currently, there is an interim VPFA/CFO, Robert Thorn. Thorn came out of retirement to fill the role temporarily, and never planned on staying permanently.
Forums Open for CU Communities:
On Thursday, Nov. 6, an email was sent out by the VPFA/CFO Search Committee. The email said that three candidates will be visiting all CU campuses in the month of November. These visits would be through open forums, where all faculty, staff and students were invited to attend. The email said “Each forum will begin with a brief presentation by the candidate on the following topic: How would you best align the limited financial resources of a university to effectively achieve their strategic goals and mission?” and then it would be followed by an open Q&A. The dates of the forums took place on:
- Nov. 10 to Nov. 11
- Nov. 18 to Nov. 19
- Nov. 20 to Nov. 21
The specifics as to who the candidates were could only be known if you attended the forums.
A candidate has been chosen:
Daniel Knorr, Chief of Staff of CU, says that “President Osgood has chosen one of the candidates and they have verbally accepted. . .” While there is no current public information as to who the chosen candidate is, Knorr says that an announcement of who the new VPFA/CFO will come out soon, however they need to give proper notice to their current employer.
