Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve asked our recent interviewees about important topics for our listeners and collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes. In this episode, our CBOs share their thoughts on governance and the CBO’s role within the institution.
Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve asked our recent interviewees about important topics for our listeners and collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes. In this episode, our CBOs talk about analytics and how to do meaningful and collaborative work with data that answers the right questions.
Dr. Kim Hadley is the Vice President of Finance & Administration and Assistant Professor of Business at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. In this episode, Dr. Hadley joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about how her background as a professor informs everything she does, keeping up to date with the pulse of the students, and the role of faith for her as a CBO. “It’s been a refreshing place to be for my faith,” she says. The role as a CBO is the same, but there are difference...
In this very special 100th episode, our host, Donna Schiele, joins NACUBO president and CEO Susan Whealler Johnston to welcome back three interviewees from our first season of CBO Speaks to see where they are now: * Bronté Burleigh-Jones, chief financial officer at American University ( listen to Bronté in episode 4 ) * Gregg Goldman, vice chancellor and chief financial officer at the University of California, Los Angeles ( listen to Gregg in episode 5 ) * Gerald Hector, senior vice president fo...
Mitchell Wein is the Senior Vice President for Finance and the Chief Administrative Officer for Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Wein joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about his passion for the mission of academia and transforming lives, spreading your time across multiple goals, and how there are many differences between the private and public sectors but that they share many similarities as well. “There are different ways to solve the problem or the opportunity...
Sherry Mondou is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. In this episode, Mondou joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about her 31 years in higher education at Puget Sound, changes she's seen over the years, and things that haven’t changed. “You never know what’s going to come up on any given day in higher education,” she says. She advises that anyone coming into this world be patient with the process of shared governance. ...
Teri Zamora is the Vice Chancellor of Fiscal Affairs at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas. In this episode, Zamora joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about connecting to varied community college populations, giving your team what they need to become what you want them to be, and building in SMORs - Small Moments of Reflection - to your schedule. “I try to build in five to 10 minutes between appointments so I can actually make notes on what I need to follow up on,” she says. She continues ...
Bradley Kendrex is the Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Mesa Community College in the Maricopa Community College system in the Phoenix, Arizona area. In this episode, Kendrex joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about the challenges of being CBO at two colleges simultaneously, how continuing as an instructor helps him stay current, and the ever-changing times in which we’re living. “Higher education is renowned for being planted in tra...
Dr. Sara Thorndike is the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Treasurer at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Thorndike joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about keeping the pulse on the needs of your team, finding ways to create work/life balance, and why people skills may outweigh the technical skills in this role. “Understanding that you have to know how to collaborate and partner and feel comfortable building trust & negotiati...
Randy Livingston is the Vice President of Finance and Administration at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia. In this episode, Livingston joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about his transition from the public sector and adapting to a different system, learning to get everyone’s endorsement, and the importance of learning to communicate with those who don’t speak the language of finance. “As the CFO, while you’re required to gain support and consensus, you are getting that from people who...
Christina Dalton is the Vice President for Business and Finance at West Virginia State University in Institute, West Virginia. In this episode, Dalton joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about advocating for diversity in higher ed institution roles, particularly accounting roles, and why it’s important for students graduating to understand financial literacy. “Being empathetic to your team members, that’s part of what makes a person successful in this role,” she says. She continues that it’s ea...
Shahrooz Roohparvar is the Vice President of Administration and Finance at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. In this episode, Roohparvar joins our host Donna Schiele to talk about turning every crisis into an opportunity, and working more toward investment and innovation for the student experience. “We can always look back and think about those enjoyable memories of the college-going experience,” he says. He continues that it’s important to make those experiences resonant to stude...
Dr. Janet Wormack is the Vice President for Administration and Finance at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland. In this episode, Dr. Wormack joins our new host Donna Schiele to talk about navigating as an African American female in a role that’s generally male-dominated, and the power of mentors and networks to find the strength to stay on the path to a successful career. “I am a big supporter of making sure you take care of the people behind you,” she says. She adds that it’s important t...
As we kick off Season 8, our host Megan Strand bids us adieu as she heads off to start a new career. Here, she introduces us to Donna Schiele, our new host of the show.
Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve been asking each of our interviewees to sum up their thoughts, in less than a minute, on various topics that are top-of-mind for our listeners right now. We’ve collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes and today we’re hearing from business officers about analytics. Colleges and universities are embracing analytics and using data, technology, and specialized knowledge to answer questions, reveal institutio...
Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve been asking each of our interviewees to sum up their thoughts, in less than a minute, on various topics that are top-of-mind for our listeners right now. We’ve collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes and today we’re hearing from business officers about the economic model. When higher education leaders envision the future of their institution, they’re challenged to think about the ideal financial or econ...
In this special episode, Megan Strand joins Jill Creighton, host of the SA: Voices From the Field Podcast, and two former CBO Speaks guests, Nicole Trufant and Gerald Hector, to look at how student affairs officers and business officers can work together towards mutual success. The discussion ranges from seeing business officers as human to how student affairs and business office professionals can help each other promote justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. They talk ab...
Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve been asking each of our interviewees to sum up their thoughts, in less than a minute, on various topics that are top-of-mind for our listeners right now. We’ve collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes and today we’re hearing from business officers about collaboration. We often hear that success isn’t found in silos, but rather in working with colleagues across campus and the higher education sector towar...
Kevin Davenport is the Vice President of Finance & Administration at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia. In this episode, Davenport joins Megan Strand to talk about the value of learning from every opportunity and why the saying ‘if you’ve never failed then that must mean you’re not trying hard enough’ means so much to him. “CBOs need to be able to really challenge themselves and to work outside of their comfort zone, not being afraid to fail,” he says. Too many people fall in...
Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve been asking each of our interviewees to sum up their thoughts, in less than a minute, on various topics that are top-of-mind for our listeners right now. We’ve collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes and today we’re hearing from business officers about advocacy. Whether it’s regarding legislative or agency activity, public perception of higher education, or other timely issues, NACUBO is your constant a...
David Gingerella is the Vice Chancellor of Administration & Finance and Chief Financial Officer at UMass Dartmouth in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. In this episode, Gingerella joins Megan Strand to talk about learning to connect in the remote digital world and why it’s still important to have spontaneous conversations NOT about work, as hard as it may be. “I have regular meetings with everyone but they’re much more structured. That’s not as personable as I’d like it to be,” he says. Working remo...
Greg Sanial is the Vice President for Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. In this episode, Sanial joins Megan Strand to talk about more frequent but shorter Zoom meetings can help everyone support each other and get things done, and why communication and decision-making skills are so critical. “You’re never going to know everything,” he says. Dealing with decision-making and ambiguity are critical skills for any CBO. I...
Melissa Hopp is the Vice President for Finance & Administration at the Community College of Baltimore County in Baltimore, Maryland. In this episode, Hopp joins Megan Strand to talk about the early days of being a CBO and why knowing how to learn and grow with the times is one of the most important development skills for any CBO, no matter where they are in their career. “The skills, they change,” she says. Whether they’re budgeting skills or learning to work with coworkers, or knowing which...
Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings is the Vice President for Finance & Administration at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. In this episode, Vazquez-Skillings joins Megan Strand to talk about navigating COVID as a marathon, not a sprint, and learning the ropes through the program review process. “The first leg of the marathon came out of the program review,” she says. They were able to learn to move students across programs and delivery models, train faculty in new technology, and leverage unforeseen ...
Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve been asking each of our interviewees to sum up their thoughts, in less than a minute, on various topics that are top-of-mind for our listeners right now. We’ve collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes and today we’re hearing from business officers about transformation. Although higher education institutions have always had to be creative, flexible, and innovative to achieve their strategic goals, they’ve...
Beth Reissenweber is the Vice President for Administration & Finance at Midwestern State University in North Texas. In this episode, Reissenweber joins Megan Strand to talk about being an essential employee, keeping COVID off campus, and leading with empathy. “It’s about enjoying the work, engaging folks, and making this a great experience,” she says, “because we spend a lot of our waking hours together at work so we want to have it a pleasant and supportive experience.” Join us for a conver...
Welcome to this special bonus episode of CBO Speaks. We’ve been asking each of our interviewees to sum up their thoughts, in less than a minute, on various topics that are top-of-mind for our listeners right now. We’ve collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes and today we’re hearing from business officers about leading through change. Change management is often cited as one of the most challenging aspects of leadership. It involves not only getting everyone on b...
We’ve been asking each of our interviewees to sum up their thoughts, in less than a minute, on various topics that are top-of-mind for our listeners right now. We’ve collected their responses to share with you in these mini topical episodes and today we’re hearing from business officers about diversity. Hearing and valuing input from people with all types of experiences, perspectives, skills, interests, and backgrounds can lead to an environment rich with innovation and creativity, which, as we’...
Bill Guerrero is the vice president for finance and administration at Ithaca College. This week on the show, Guerrero joins Megan Strand to talk about cash vs. crisis management and the rise in sharing services between higher ed institutions, and how these initiatives are critical in these times. “That was kind of unheard of years ago to think of three completely different institutions saying, ‘Let’s work together on some projects’,” he says. “You would think that dining services is a competitiv...
Ron Cortez serves as Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chancellor, Division of Finance and Administration, at the University of California at Irvine. This week on the show, Cortez joins Megan Strand for a conversation on the best foot forward in the long run with COVID as a CBO. "It’s important to try to provide vision during this time of chaos,” he says. “As we’re making lots of change or we’re adapting to different policies or procedures for COVID-19, and as we’re bringing back students and hav...
