EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

About Clark University

Founded in 1887, Clark University is a small, private, liberal arts-based research university committed to scholarship and inquiry that addresses social and human imperatives on a global basis. The University’s mission is to educate undergraduate and graduate students to become imaginative and contributing citizens of the world and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative effort. Clark’s urban location in Worcester, Massachusetts, combined with its tradition of community partnerships, place faculty and students in an ideal position to live the University's motto, “Challenge Convention. Change Our World.”

As a research university, Clark offers students the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge scholarship and creative work, working side by side with graduate students and faculty members, many of whom are international leaders in their fields. Researchers who have held Clark appointments include A.A. Michelson, the first U.S. Nobel Prize winner in the sciences, and Robert Goddard, the father of the space age and the inventor of modern rocket technology. Clark has also produced more Geography PhDs than any other program in the world and has a unique PhD program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Clark has also taken a leadership position in developing interdisciplinary programs such as the Department of International Development, Community, and Environment.

Clark enrolls approximately 2,200 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. At the graduate level, Clark enrolls students in 8 doctoral and 12 master's degree programs. Graduate programs include degrees offered through Clark’s AACSB-accredited Graduate School of Management. Clark has received national attention for its accelerated degree program that allows students to complete both a BA degree and a master's degree in five years, with the fifth year tuition-free for eligible students.

At the undergraduate level, Clark offers a challenging liberal arts curriculum. It provides students with many of the benefits typically associated with an excellent liberal arts college, including small classes, a strong sense of community, extensive co-curricular opportunities, and faculty who are passionate about teaching and mentoring students. Through Clark’s new Liberal Education and Effective Practice model of undergraduate education (LEEP), all aspects of the Clark undergraduate experience are being aligned to educate graduates known both for their academic accomplishments and for key capacities of “effective practice”—the term Clark uses to encompass a range of capacities needed to translate ideas and values into action. These effective practice capacities are qualities such as creativity and imagination, self-directedness, resilience and persistence, and the abilities to collaborate with others across differences and to manage complexity and uncertainty.

Clark is a faculty-centered institution with a strong tradition of shared governance. A monthly meeting of the whole faculty serves as a legislative body on matters of fundamental academic policy and faculty committees ensure productive faculty engagement in strategic planning. The University maintains a formal academic and financial plan that is developed with the faculty and approved by the faculty assembly and the Board of Trustees. The current academic and financial plan of the University covers the period 2011–16. The plan presents a vision of a powerful synthesis of research, graduate and undergraduate education, and community partnerships. This model for a research university positions Clark as an institution of consequence for its students and the world they inherit, able to respond forcefully and boldly to the rapidly changing landscape of higher education. Two overarching goals of the plan are to elevate the reputation and strengthen the resource base of the University. Key initiatives in the plan include the implementation of a new model of undergraduate liberal arts education, growth in graduate programs, and enhanced success in alumni engagement and fundraising.

The University is governed by its Board of Trustees, which is made up of term, alumni, and honorary members, and one lifetime member. Board committees oversee operational areas including strategic and financial planning, student affairs, academic affairs, investment, and social responsibility.

David P. Angel became Clark's ninth president in 2010. Having joined the Clark faculty in September 1987, he served as Clark's provost from 2003 to 2010, overseeing all undergraduate and graduate academic programs and admissions, student affairs, sponsored research, and University libraries. During his tenure as provost, Clark strengthened its undergraduate programs, raised the research and graduate profile of the University, and invested in new academic facilities.

Clark employs 206 full-time and 78 part-time faculty members and 409 full-time and 48 part-time staff. The Clark faculty excels at teaching, scholarship, and service. Faculty members are recipients of a variety of prestigious awards, fellowships, and residencies that support their scholarship. These include Fulbright awards, National Science Foundation CAREER awards, Mellon Fellowships, Sloan Research Fellowships, Woodrow Wilson Fellowships, and appointments to the National Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Clark was included on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youths. Clark has played a leadership role in the Worcester community since 1985 and has been a primary partner in the University Park Partnership (UPP) since 1995. UPP is a broad, grassroots partnership that involves neighborhood residents and organizations, local churches, government officials, the business community, and public schools. The University's interest in UPP is rooted in its responsibility to the neighborhood it shares and also in its long-standing tradition of applying teaching and learning to real-world problems.

Clark is highlighted in Colleges that Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College, by Loren Pope. The schools included in this group “excel at developing potential, values, initiative, and risk-taking in a wide range of students.” Clark has also been recognized by The Princeton Review’s The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition; Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “Best Values in Private Colleges for 2011–2012”; and Forbes’ annual “America's Best Colleges.”

Clark is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the second largest city in New England. A five-time recipient of the All-American City Award, Worcester offers its residents the resources and exciting attractions of a metropolis balanced with the more intimate, livable scale of a mid-sized city. With its population of 181,000, Worcester is home to 10 colleges and universities including the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, College of the Holy Cross, and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Thirty-eight percent of all jobs in the city are in higher education or medicine. More than 36 percent of residents between the ages of 25 and 34 have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The city is a major center for bioscience and biomedical research and manufacturing.

Financial Profile

The University’s current operating budget is $110 million. Clark’s major sources of revenue are undergraduate and graduate student tuition, research grants, investment income, philanthropic gifts, and auxiliary services.

Clark’s financial position is quite strong, despite the challenging economic environment. In fiscal year 2011–12, operating revenues exceeded expenditures by $2.2 million, or just over two percent of the operating budget. At the end of the fiscal year, the University’s net assets stood at $500 million, while liabilities were $121 million. Clark’s endowment was valued at $321 million.

The University’s endowment is overseen by a trustee investment committee. In comparison to college and university endowments in the U.S. for the time periods ending June 30, 2011, the Clark endowment performed as follows:

University facilities comprise more than 1.6 million square feet of buildings, including academic facilities, residence halls, and athletic facilities.

THE ROLE OF EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

Responsibilities

Reporting to the President, the Executive Vice President and Treasurer is a senior member of the leadership team of the University. Primary responsibilities of the position include the following:

• Developing and providing management for both the annual operating budget and capital budget of the University;
• Oversight of the University’s investment portfolio* ;
• Oversight of the financial operations of the University, including accounting, audit, student accounts, and payroll functions;
• Managing debt issuance, relationships with financial institutions, investment bankers, and rating agencies;
• Functioning as Treasurer of the Corporation;
• Oversight of risk management and compliance with IRS, federal, and state regulations;
• Planning and implementation of campus facilities, including development of campus master plans, sustainability initiatives, and new project development;
• Oversight of business services, including purchasing, insurance, and food services;
• Oversight of emergency management preparedness;
• Managing external legal counsel; and
• Oversight of human resources.

* Note that for 2013–14, the endowment portfolio will be overseen on a part-time basis by the current Executive Vice President.

The following positions report to the Executive Vice President:

• Director of Physical Plant
• Assistant Treasurer/Controller
• Director of Business Services
• Director of Human Resources

The Executive Vice President staffs the following Board of Trustee committees:

• Strategic Planning and Finance
• Environment (facilities)
• Investment
• Audit

 Key Challenges and Opportunities

Following are the key challenges that constitute opportunities for the Executive Vice President, working with other senior staff, to provide leadership that will significantly advance the reputation and resource base of the University:

• Financial Strategy. Develop and implement a financial strategy for the University that strengthens the institution’s overall resource base through investment, revenue growth, cost containment, and attention to margins. The Executive Vice President serves as the chief financial officer of Clark University and is charged with developing multi-year plans for investment, expenditure, and revenues consistent with the mission of the University.
• Institutional Effectiveness. Working with senior management and the Director of Human Resources, develop and implement policies and practices that enhance institutional effectiveness and ensure that Clark University is a high-performing organization. This includes attention to performance metrics, benchmarks, institutional culture, talent development, and retention.
• Risk, Compliance, and Reputation. Ensure that appropriate policies and practices are in place to identify and manage risk, ensure compliance with all legal mandates and responsibilities, and proactively steward the reputation of the University. The Executive Vice President serves as the primary point of contact with legal counsel on retainer to the University.
• Innovation. The University recognizes that the next decade will be a period of significant change in higher education that likely will require innovation and change in how we deliver excellence consistent with Clark’s mission. The Executive Vice President will have the opportunity to help lead the University’s response to such issues as affordability of education, the role of technology, growth opportunities for the University, and the role of the campus as an anchor institution in its neighborhood and in the city.

Key Attributes

As a member of the executive leadership team, the Executive Vice President provides visionary and strategic leadership pertaining to the financial integrity of the institution, the physical plant growth and maintenance, and business services. While no one candidate will likely possess all of the following, the successful ideal candidate would hold an MBA or another advanced degree in finance or management and would demonstrate many of the following qualifications:

• Financial acumen

• Track record of success as a senior financial officer of a complex organization;
• Strong background in accounting, information technology, and financing capital projects and improvements;
• Track record of excelling at making difficult, timely, and financially responsible decisions; and
• Experience managing investments.

• Vision and execution

• Excel at developing, organizing, implementing, directing, and evaluating the University’s fiscal function and performance, including budgeting, evaluating and advising on the impact of fiscal long-range planning, management of debt and currency exposure, asset growth, introduction of new programs and strategies, and monitoring regulatory action;
• Partner effectively with the University’s investment consultant and fund managers; and
• Effective, fair, and open negotiator, committed to a transparent decision-making process emphasizing consultation and collaboration with faculty, students, staff, and the local community.

• Planning and partnering

• Strength in strategic and tactical planning, budget development, policy development, problem-solving, and risk management; and
• Understanding of the culture of a campus and the ability to work effectively with the academic community, public officials, and the Board of Trustees.

• Financial leadership

• Ability to develop entrepreneurial and effective financial policies and strategies to support the University’s mission, vision, core values, and strategic agenda; and
• Experience drafting financial strategies to support capital improvement projects and fulfill institutional, long-range planning goals.

Personal Characteristics

The Executive Vice President will motivate and inspire the highest performance of his/her team by modeling the following attributes:

• Dynamic, high-energy leader with high standards for personal and professional excellence, honesty, and integrity;
• Ability to analyze operational effectiveness and implement organizational change successfully;
• Record as a self-starter and a dedicated professional who has a strong commitment to service, support of the academic mission, and continued advancement of the University;
• Excellent communicator, who is able to engage a wide range of constituencies including trustees, students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and members of the local community;
• High degree of professional discretion, integrity, and judgment, modeling exemplary standards of professional conduct for credibility across the University;
• An open, collaborative leadership style that promotes partnerships and builds trust and strong relationships across constituencies;
• Proven capacity to recruit, retain, and motivate top management and support staff talent to achieve optimal results; and
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity.

Contact

Nominations, inquiries, and expressions of interest should be sent to: Clark12@storbeckpimentel.com

Clark welcomes diversity. AA/EOE