VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE The College
Located in New London, Connecticut, on a hillside overlooking Long Island Sound and encompassing a 750-acre arboretum, Connecticut College is a vibrant community that enrolls 1,850 students in four-year bachelor’s degree programs.
Founded in 1911, at a moment of great technological and social change, Connecticut College was made for a new century. It began as a women’s institution with a progressive vision of the liberal arts, offering an education that would be not only learned but also useful, thereby preparing graduates for meaningful roles in society. Coeducational since 1969, the College’s forward-looking ethos remains. Students choose from among 60 majors and minors, including a collection of distinctive certificate programs offered in the College’s five centers of
interdisciplinary scholarship: the Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy; the Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment; the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology; the Toor Cummings Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts; and the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity. Students also benefit from an enlightened approach to career advising, which not only engages students with talented alumni across the globe, but also guarantees every student a College-funded internship or research experience before graduation.
The College has a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, with an average class size of 18. The community is bound by a fiercely held value of shared governance, high academic standards, an honor code that permits self-monitored exams, and a commitment to environmental stewardship and social justice. The College boasts a strong tradition of scholar-athletes, with one third of the student body competing in NCAA Division III sports through the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The student body, drawn from 45 states and over 70 countries, includes 22 percent domestic students of color and 12 percent international students. Forty percent of Connecticut College students receive some form of financial aid.
several student-run facilities, such as a venue for rock musicians; a coffee house, a radio station, and an organic garden that supplied produce to the dining halls. A recently refurbished steel house from the 1930s, an early example of American prefab construction, houses the Office of Sustainability.
Located on the northeast corridor, equidistant between Boston and New York, New London is a historic port city of 25,000 residents with a progressive culture and a lively arts community. The Providence Journal recently described the city as a “seaside haven with a funky, hipster vibe.” It neighbors many beautiful towns along the Connecticut shoreline, offering access to beaches, farms, and other outdoor activities and ferries and trains with direct routes to Long Island, Fishers Island, Boston, New York, and beyond.
Financial Profile
Connecticut College’s net assets are valued at $348 million, including an endowment of $277 million as of June 30, 2014, and its current cash operating budget is $140 million. Its major sources of revenue are undergraduate tuition, research grants, investment income,
philanthropic gifts, and auxiliary services.
The College’s financial position is strong, despite the challenging economic environment in which liberal arts colleges currently operate. In fiscal year 2014–15, operating revenues exceeded expenditures by $3.5 million, or just under 3 percent of the operating budget. Connecticut College’s endowment is overseen by the Board of Trustee’s Investment
Subcommittee. In comparison to Foundation and College endowments in the U.S. for the time periods ending June 30, 2014, the College’s endowment performed as follows:
Time Period Annualized Conn Return Rank of # Reporting Conn Percentile
1 year 15.8 % 388 of 807 52
3 year 9.8 % 187 of 720 74
5 year 12.6 % 200 of 695 71
The Role
The Vice President for Finance is the chief financial officer of the College, reporting to the President. As a member of the senior administrative team, the Vice President provides visionary and strategic leadership with regard to the financial integrity of the College. S/he serves as an assiduous and ethical steward of the College’s resources, with a commitment to its progressive history and the values that animate the campus community today. The Vice
President is charged with developing multiyear plans for investment, expenditure, and revenues consistent with the mission of the College.
The Vice President serves on the Priorities, Planning, and Budget Committee and staffs the Board of Trustees’ Finance, Audit, and Investment committees. S/he oversees a staff that includes the Director of Financial Planning and the Controller.
The Vice President oversees the College’s operating budget, assets, and funds. S/he manages all external financial relationships, including those with rating agencies, banks, and investment banks. The Vice President takes responsibility for fiscal planning, investment performance, preservation and protection of all leases, budget preparation and performance, real estate transactions, and insurance.
Specific responsibilities of the Vice President include maintaining institutional books of account; preparation and administration of the budget; financing the College; capital structure including debt management; financial reports and analyses; general ledger; accounts payable and
receivable; student loans; cash management; payroll; tax compliance and audit. Opportunities and Challenges
The Vice President will operate during a period of significant change in higher education, requiring innovation to continually deliver the excellence for which Connecticut College is known. Accordingly, s/he will be presented with the following opportunities to advance Connecticut College’s reputation and resource base.
Strategic planning
Provide financial advice and guidance for the upcoming strategic planning process, working with the President, senior leadership, faculty, and the Board to identify future priorities;
Direct the College’s fiscal function and performance, including long-range planning, management of debt, and monitoring regulatory action; and
Develop and implement a financial strategy that strengthens the College’s resource base through investment, revenue growth, cost containment, and attention to margins. Innovation
Explore opportunities to enhance the role of technology to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the all financial processes, including budgeting;
Identify efficiencies and opportunities for cost containment. Institutional effectiveness
Work collaboratively with the Priorities, Planning, and Budget Committee;
Prioritize the College’s values, such as sustainability, diversity, and inclusion in financial decision-making processes; and
Develop strong and systematic communication across campus, including making regular presentations on budget matters to the faculty and staff.
Key Success Factors
Connecticut College seeks an experienced financial professional with a record of achievement in positions of increasing scope. The ideal candidate would hold an MBA or other relevant
advanced degree and would demonstrate the following: Financial acumen
Track record of success as a senior financial officer of a complex organization; High-level financial planning, modeling, and analytic skills;
Strong background in accounting, information technology, and financing capital
projects and improvements;
Track record of excelling at making difficult, timely, and financially responsible decisions;
Experience with and knowledge of debt management, risk management, and financial audits; and
Understanding of budgeting and finance models at liberal arts colleges. Relationships and collaboration
Ability to build relationships with banks, investment managers, and rating agencies; Appreciation for the role of shared governance, including the ability engage with
constituents in a consultative and collaborative manner;
Experience working effectively with Board members, including providing complex information clearly in support of their fiduciary responsibilities; and
Ability to effectively present complex financial information to varied audiences. Visionary leadership
Extensive strategic planning experience;
Ability to think analytically and look broadly for new ideas and best practices;
Commitment to mission and values of the College, including sustainability, diversity, and inclusion; and
Contact
All inquiries, expressions of interest, and nominations should be sent to:
ConnVPFinance@storbeckpimentel.com
As a highly selective residential liberal arts college, Connecticut College is committed to creating a vibrant community enriched by diverse perspectives, talents and experiences. We encourage applications
