Concurrent Sessions V | April 16 | 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM

Session 5A: Understanding the Impact of Research on Your Institution

Description 

In an era of slow growth for tuition, demographic challenges, and for public universities, slow growth in state support, research expenditures are the fastest growing source of revenue for some institutions. As a CFO, or finance professional within your institution, what are the basic fundamentals of research you should know. What are Facilities and Administrative Costs, specific types of research contracts, and how does this affect your university's financial performance. How are the revenues generated and how should any F&A reimbursements be distributed back to the units on campus to support their expenses? How should research facilities be financed under this framework. Hear from a Financial Advisor with direct, post-award finance experience and a Director of Contracts and Grants at a major research university in the Southeast about the information you should know and how you can use the information to develop new strategic initiatives in Finance.

The presentation will focus on the budgeting, planning and reporting challenges Montevallo faced as they overhauled their processes. Montevallo will also detail how they overcame obstacles and ultimately modernized their budgeting, long-range planning and reporting processes campus wide. Spaulding Ridge will help call attention to the approach Montevallo used to enable successful change. The audience will have an opportunity to ask questions directly to dive deeper into how Montevallo was able to successfully launch their new budgeting, reporting, and long range strategic planning environment.Attendees can expect to walk away with a better understanding of how to approach leveraging technology to improve their financial planning, reporting, and budgeting processes to link various functions across the University.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the language of sponsored research --what do the different terms mean for a university, and what do you need to know about the Finance of Research.
2. Understand the research ecosystem, the life cycle of research--and the role of Finance in the research enterprise.
3. Understand the components of direct and indirect costs, and think about possible strategies such as debt financing for your institution, based on that knowledge.

Speakers 

Mary Peloquin-Dodd, Director, PFM Financial Advisors LLC

Mary Peloquin-Dodd is a director in the PFM Higher Education Group. Her role at PFM focuses on alternative delivery and public private partnerships (P3), and strategic finance projects for higher education clients. Typical projects include M&A, asset monetization and disposition, real estate/economic development, financial improvement strategies, and workforce organization solutions.Mary comes to PFM from North Carolina State University, where she served for 10.5 years as Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and University Treasurer. At NC State, Mary led all central finance departments for NC State, with a staff of 170 professionals, and was responsible for all asset/liability management including investment management. Prior to North Carolina State University,Mary was a Managing Director at Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in New York for 25 years, where she led bond and credit ratings for higher education and not-for-profit corporations.She was a Board Member of the Treasury Institute for Higher Education, and for many years served on the Program Committee as a member and chair of the Annual Symposium. Mary is a Series 50 Registered Municipal Advisor.She holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

Justo Torres, North Carolina State University

Justo Torres is the Director of Contracts and Grants at North Carolina State University.  Prior to joining NC State in March of 2015, Justo was the Assistant Director of Award Management at UNC Chapel Hill. Justo is an active member of both The Society of Research Administrators (SRA International), where he is a Past President of the Southern Section and the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA), where he is the Immediate-past Chair for Region III. Justo is a frequent workshop and concurrent session speaker at Regional and National meetings and collaborates with Research Administrators throughout the country to develop his profession. Justo holds an Associate's degree from Miami Dade College and a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Florida International University. He held CRA designation from 2003-2013. He has received Advanced Accountability training from the Florida Department of Finance, Compliance training at Florida State University, and is a graduate of the Research Leadership and Development Program at UNC Chapel Hill. Justo is a graduate of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) 2021-2022 Emerging Leaders Program.

Session 5B: Tools of Effective Leadership: Beyond Debits and Credits

Description

When I stepped into the role of Director of Finance in February 2022, I became a leader of leaders for the first time in my career. Being a leader is one of the most rewarding (and critically important) aspects of my role. Much of what has made me successful has little to do with Finance and Accounting.  Rather, it is my lived experiences (good and bad) that have made me into the leader that I am today. I welcome the opportunity to share those experiences in the form of testimonials / case studies. I also want to leave the audience with resources that they can leverage after they leave the conference (i.e., Crucial Conversations). The experiences / case studies that I would like to touch on are: soft skill development, lessons in change management, having difficult conversations, building a network, and relying on it, importance of empathy, compassion and belonging, succession planning, evolution of this with my team of 24, "Stay" interviews, 9-box exercise, compensation and equity, coupled with our succession planning efforts, highlights of our successes in this space, coming attractions, 2-year rotation of bespoke experiences, and team champions mentorship

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the importance of soft skills and leave with resources to better understand and build upon those skills
2. Understand what a succession plan is and how to build one using tools such as the 9-box methodology
3. Understand the importance of compensation and the importance of weaving that in with one's succession planning efforts.

Speakers 

Jennifer Gourley, Director of Finance, Vanderbilt University

Jennifer is an empowering servant leader with a unique Finance, Accounting and Operations-focused background. She has historically provided strategic financial leadership and management, combined with audit and other assurance services, to for-profits, not-for-profits, governments, and other entities. Her expertise includes leading financial operations for a distinguished higher education institution and a global manufacturing enterprise that have required her to quickly adapt to changing demands and make an immediate impact.

Tanya Brown, Senior, Vanderbilt University

Tanya Brown is the Senior Director, HR Consulting, Employee and Labor Relations at Vanderbilt University. She has 15 years of experience in Human Resources in many industries including the private sector, public sector, and higher education. Tanya currently leads a team of HR Consultants, who are the primary contact for leaders and employees across the university for matters related to human resources, and workers’ compensation and leave team. Tanya has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Social Sciences with a minor in Psychology from the University of Arizona and a Master’s of Science in Human Resources Strategic Management from Bellevue University.

Session 5C: Ethics in a Changing World

Description

This session will look at the topic of ethics in higher education. We will examine some recent cases of ethical failure and ultimately discuss ways you can navigate ethical issues in an increasingly complex world.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will learn about recent ethical trends in higher education.

2. Participants will learn ways to navigate ethical issues in higher education.

3. Participants will develop strategies for examining ethical situations.

Speakers

Kevin Robinson, Auburn University, Associate Vice President of the Office of Audit, Compliance & Privacy

Kevin Robinson is the Associate Vice President for Audit, Compliance & Privacy at Auburn University and serves as AU’s Chief Audit & Compliance Executive. He is also a past president of the Association of College and University Auditors (ACUA). Kevin also serves as an adjunct member of the graduate faculty in the School of Accountancy at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business. Kevin is a frequent speaker on the topic of ethics, occupational fraud, fraud prevention, internal controls, risk management, and leadership. Kevin is the primary author of the highly popular monthly electronic newsletter “Case-in-Point: Lessons for the Proactive Manager” which discusses emerging risks in higher education.

Session 5D: Most Strategic Ways to Accelerate Your Career in Higher Education

Description 

Higher education is in the midst of considerable change. The ability to lead effectively through this transformation is now more important than ever before. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of higher education administration has been growing with more than 13,000 jobs that will need to be filled by 2028.

This session is designed for mid-level employees within higher education, who are interested in preparing themselves for leadership positions within the academy. Discussions will include the skills and traits required to be an effective leader specifically in the academy, strategies to overcome barriers, and why you should consider higher education as a place to build a career.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn how to lead authentically.

2. Build skills to overcome obstacles.

3. Learn how to exercise the type of leadership required in higher education in the 21st century.

Speakers 

Mary Alexander, University of South Carolina, Chief of Staff, Division of Academic Affairs

Dr. Mary Alexander is the Assistant Provost and Chief of Staff for the Division of Academic Affairs.  She manages the division's $45 million budget, oversees the human resources functions for the division, and directs Community Engagement, the Office of Military Affairs, and the university calendaring office. She has budgetary oversight for all USC Columbia academic units and provides guidance on operational issues that are elevated to the Office of Academic Affairs. Additional responsibilities include managing the faculty outside professional activities reporting process, academic blueprints and strategic planning, and internal grant administration. Alexander has served as the chair of USC's Women's Leadership Institute (WLI) since 2010.

Recently the WLI was recognized with the national leadership award for the Advancement of Women in Higher Education from the American Council on Education. Additionally, she is an executive board member and vice-chair for Women in Philanthropy (an affinity group of United Way) and vice-chair of the CARO credit union executive board.  She also serves as an executive board member and treasurer for South Carolina Women in Higher Education. Alexander teaches Administrative Leadership and Human Resources Management within the University of South Carolina's Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program. She has a true passion for developing the next generation of leaders within the academy.

Session 5E: Everything You Wanted to Know About SACSCOC, But We’re Afraid to Ask

Description 

This session will discuss the purposes of accreditation, specific accreditation standards of SACSCOC, and an overall process of the reaffirmation of accreditation process. 

Learning Objectives

1. The audience will be able to understand the specifics of the SACSCOC peer driven reaffirmation process.

2. The audience will be able to understand the specific SACSCOC accreditation standards.

3. The audience will better understand the organizational structure and the decision-making process of SACSCOC.

Speakers 

Belle Wheelan, President of SACSCOC

Dr. Belle Wheelan currently serves as President of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is the first African American and the first woman to serve in this capacity. Her career spans over 40 years and includes the roles of faculty member, chief student services officer, campus provost, college president and Secretary of Education. In several of those roles she was the first African American and/or woman to serve in those capacities. Dr. Wheelan received her Bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in Texas (1972) with a double major in Psychology and Sociology; her Master’s from Louisiana State University (1974) in Developmental Educational Psychology; and her Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin (1984) in Educational Administration with a special concentration in community college leadership.