Concurrent Sessions VIII | April 16 | 3:30 PM – 4:20 PM

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Session 8A: Capital Markets Strategy - Planning and Managing a Public Bond Offering | 1 CPE Credit

Description 

With a number of factors impacting the borrowing environment for colleges and universities (higher interest rates, elevated project costs, reduced market liquidity, financial market conditions impacting availability and terms of credit, financial pressures for institutions) the panel offers a refresher on planning and execution of a public bond offering. Targeted at a range of institutions from the infrequent or new issuer to experienced borrowers, the panelists will discuss best practices for seamless and successful execution - including rating strategy, evaluating structuring options in current market conditions, disclosure preparation and the marketing and pricing process through closing. As market conditions continue to shift, the market is more prescriptive around structuring, security and covenants, it is important for borrowers to evaluate and consider borrowing strategies within the context of an existing debt portfolio to manage and mitigate potential conflicts while maintaining the ability to access the lending markets. A well-planned process includes considerations around reimbursement mechanics, timing of approvals, considerations of audit publication and even timing of deal close, within the context of market preferences and conditions. In addition, the emergence of ESG financings creates additional considerations and cost/benefit analysis of the resources necessary to support ESG designations. The panel will present framework from the perspectives of the issuer, financial advisor and underwriter and investor.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand current financial markets conditions
2. Develop tools for strategic planning and best practices in debt portfolio management
3. Learn how to assess the risks and benefits of various financing options

Speakers 

Megan DeGrass, Senior Vice President, Hilltop Securities, Inc.

Megan DeGrass is a Senior Vice President, Public Finance at Hilltop Securities in the Higher Education financial advisory group. She has nearly 30 years of nonprofit and municipal finance experience, primarily covering the higher education, independent school, cultural and nonprofit sectors. She has worked with many institutions nationally, including many new borrowers, public and private universities, foundations and cultural organizations. Previously she worked at Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. Ms. DeGrass has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and French from Simmons College and is a FINRA Registered Municipal Advisor. She also holds securities licenses including Series 7, 79, 52, 53 and 24.

Gene Crouch, AVP & Treasurer, George Mason University

Gene is the Treasurer at George Mason University and has extensive higher education treasury and finance experience.  He is responsible for entity-wide Treasury, including debt, cash/liquidity, working capital, investment management, PCI, and E-Commerce. He also manages the University's Internal Bank, which provides banking services, cash management, loans, and investment options to Schools/Departments, and maintains short & long-term liquidity and capitalization of the Bank and the consolidated organizations. Previously, Gene was the Director of Treasury at University of Virginia.

Bjorn Reigle, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Healthcare, Higher Education and Nonprofit Group, Wells Fargo Bank

Bjorn Reigle is a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Healthcare, Higher Education and Nonprofit group at Wells Fargo. Bjorn has spent a majority of his career working with both public and private Higher Education institutions both as an investment banker and municipal advisor. Throughout his career he has worked on financings in excess of $10 billion to include both public and private debt placements. Bjorn is currently a board member of Albright College and is located in Charlotte North Carolina with his wife and two dogs.

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Session 8B: Throwing Mud at the Wall: A Practice to Create Community Culture, Improve Engagement, and Support Wellbeing Through a Team Restructure and the Change Management Process | 1 CPE Credit

Description

How do you retain staff, elevate talent, and change team culture while developing a new structure, building best practices, creating standard operating processes, and managing consistent change? First, take a deep breath (daily or hourly), exercise patience, and communicate openly. Then, focus on developing trust by experimenting with multiple change management processes and team development activities until you find something that resonates with each and every member of your team. Don’t be afraid to use multiple approaches and methods to address the issue of the week or the month, build community and improve engagement. Get to know your team, find out what resonates with them, and what creates synergy and engagement. Develop a vision and purpose that they will want to support. As a leader, be flexible and understand this is a journey without a concrete end-state, it is a culture shift and a living process that will change. Most importantly, stay positive and keep your sense of humor!

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the importance of developing best practices, documenting standard operating procedures, and being consistent to cultivate a culture of trust and exemplary performance.
2. Learn how using multiple change management methods and approaches to team development increases engagement, elevates talent, and leads to a culture of community.
3. Develop leadership skills and explore how flexibility, curiosity and positivity are vital to drive a culture shift and support change management.

Speakers

Chera Finkbiner, Sr. Director of Business Operations, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Chera joined UTSA in 2021 and serves as the Senior Director of Operations for Business Affairs, providing administrative and fiscal oversight of the Business Affairs Business Service Center. Her role includes managing financial processes, budget development and management, and maintaining internal controls that align with University policy. The Business Affairs Service Center is a centralized service department providing financial and HR transactional support, budget development and management, and financial analysis and reporting services.  With more than 25 years of experience in higher education and private sector startups, Chera embodies servant leadership in various financial and administrative roles, including, organizational development, accounting, budget development and reporting, operations and business administration. Her prior experience in education is with Indiana University, Bloomington and the University of California, Santa Cruz.  Honored as the 2023 recipient of the UTSA Employee Excellence Award for Leadership, Chera cultivates excellence through performance development, talent elevation, engagement through a personalized approach and creating a culture of trust and community. She motivates her team using creative team engagement activities and professional development opportunities. Chera earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Master of Leadership Development in Finance from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Mary Hernandez, Sr. Associate Vice President for Administration and Operations, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Mary, serves as the Senior Associate Vice President for Administration and Operations at The University of Texas at San Antonio. In her current role, Mary oversees critical administrative units, including People Excellence, Campus Services, the Business Affairs Business Service Center, Risk and Emergency Management, Business Affairs Strategic Communications, and Pandemic Operations. Since joining UTSA in 2019, she has been instrumental in implementing numerous institutional initiatives and programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she orchestrated the university's comprehensive operational response and recovery, ensuring the well-being of the campus community while maintaining the continuity of essential operations. Prior to her tenure at UTSA, Mary served as the President's Chief of Staff and Board Liaison at Texas Southmost College, optimizing institutional operations and governance. As the Senior Executive Director for Procurement and Travel Services at Texas State Technical College, she successfully led various business process redesign projects, standardizing procurement operations across 10 campuses and system administration. With a career that spans over 25 years of professional experience in higher education administration, Mary demonstrates an unwavering dedication to fostering a culture of excellence. Mary earned her Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences and her Master's in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Brownsville.

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Session 8C: A Transformative Approach to Preparing Students for Success in the Real World | 1 CPE Credit

Description

An increasing number of institutions are taking a close look at their offerings through the lens of student outcomes as well as ROI. In some cases, the reviews result in the challenging reality of cutting programs that are not delivering value for learners and/or the institution. However, often opportunities to reinvent programs and invest in new programs with strong outcomes are discovered. The session will cover resources available, approaches to a curriculum review and lessons learned through the lens of the Business Officer. The panel will also explore curriculum analysis and changes using financial analysis (utilization of activity-based costing, departmental revenue and expense analysis) and how that impacts decision making from the academic perspective. Using polling questions and a dedicated, Q&A session, we plan on engaging the audience to solicit their thoughts, questions and overall experience dealing with the topic at hand.

Learning Objectives

1. After attending this session, you will be able to understand how industry peers are currently addressing concerns associated with "the value of an education" through academic offerings, curriculums and programs designed to boost post graduate success rates.
2. After attending this session, you will be able to collaborate with peers in the Higher Education community to share the positive and/or negative ROI impacts of course curriculums/programs on post-graduate success metrics.
3. After attending the session, you will gain insights of key issues covered in this panel by reviewing real world examples of modifications to various education programs highlighted in this session. This will benefit participants by being able to take these ideas back to campus to drive change at home.

Speakers

James F. Lock III, Managing Director, J.P. Morgan

James Lock leads the Greater South Treasury Sales team for Healthcare, Higher Education, and Not-For-Profit Banking as part of Commercial Banking's Middle Market Banking and Specialized Industries business. James and his team collaborate with clients in order to solve key payment challenges and optimize their treasury practices by leveraging the firm’s extensive treasury platform and deep industry knowledge. In addition to this role, James is also a national Higher Education Industry Executive. James has 30 years of treasury and retail banking experience across the higher education, healthcare, government, and consumer banking sectors. James routinely presents at industry conferences as part of his role as an industry thought leader. Recent presentation topics include: “Disruption Abounds in Higher Ed Payments – Opportunities to Embrace New Technology and be Prepared for the Future”, “Turning ROI into Reality: How Treasury Can Lead the Enterprise in Technological Transformation”, “You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure: Using Data Analytics and Disruptive Technology to Build Better Business Processes,” and “Transforming Treasury: Taking a Collaborative Approach to Improving Treasury Operations,”. A graduate of Regent University, James holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Management and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia College & State University. James has maintained his Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) credential since 2002.

Kelli D. Shomaker, Sr. Vice President for Business & Administration and CFO, Auburn University

Ms. Kelli Shomaker is in her seventh year as the Senior Vice President for Business and Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Auburn University. Ms. Shomaker is a seasoned administrator having spent over twenty-seven years in higher education, including sixteen years at Texas A&M University. Ms. Shomaker oversees financial reporting, budgets, procurement and payments, cash management, debt management, facilities, real estate, human resources, trademark and licensing, and numerous administrative units on campus. Ms. Shomaker received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M University, a Master’s in Higher Education Administration from Auburn University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Prior to higher education Ms. Shomaker was the Vice President, Treasurer and Controller for a publicly traded investment company and worked as an auditor for the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms. Shomaker serves as a Board member of the Retirement System of Alabama, the Alabama Public Education Employees Health Insurance Plan, and the Treasury Institute of Higher Education. 

Eric Bymaster, Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Treasurer, Vanderbilt University

Eric Bymaster serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Treasurer at Vanderbilt University. Eric’s responsibilities include cash, short-term investments, debt planning, banking relationships, and other treasury operations; financial planning and analysis, including developing the annual budget and the university’s capital plan; and supporting the chief business officers of the 10 academic schools, the Provost, Athletics, and the administrative support areas. Eric has served at Vanderbilt since 2016. Prior to Vanderbilt Eric spent 15 years at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. His most recent position was Associate Vice President for Finance & Operations in the Division of Campus Life with financial, administrative, and operational responsibilities for housing, dining, bookstore, and university center operations, as well as financial, budgeting, human resources, and IT management for athletics, student affairs, student health, dean of students, career center, and the counseling center. Before Emory Eric spent seven years at Purdue University and Purdue Research Foundation, in West Lafayette, Indiana in a variety of roles including managing commercial and residential real estate and serving as a business and contracting officer in the School of Engineering and School of Agriculture. Eric received his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management and a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration also from Purdue University.Outside of work Eric enjoys distance running, real estate investing, boating, and being an uncle to eight nieces and nephews.

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Session 8D: Financial Reporting Quality in Higher Education | 1 CPE Credit

Description

This session will discuss how to effectively communicate financial information with users who have diverse financial backgrounds. The session will include a discussion of financial statement disclosure overload in higher education. The presenter will share findings from a recent experimental study that examined causes and effects of disclosure overload. Attendees will be provided practical considerations for improving financial communication with users who have diverse financial backgrounds.

Learning Objectives

1. The session will raise awareness of the diversity in financial competency that exists in the higher education community.
2. Participants will learn methods for quickly evaluating financial information that needs improvement.
3. Participants will learn methods for effectively communicating financial information with users who have diverse financial backgrounds.

Speakers

Melissa Hicks, Director of Accounting, Kentucky Community & Technical College System

Melissa Hicks is the Director of Accounting at Kentucky Community & Technical College System. She holds a master's from the University of Kentucky, a bachelor's from Morehead State University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate with an emphasis in accounting. Melissa is a Certified Public Accountant with over 20 years of accounting and audit experience.

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Session 8E: Revitalizing Excellence: Transforming Business Processes and Redefining Workforce Dynamics and for Lasting Success | 1 CPE Credit

Description

In an era where across-the-board employee satisfaction surveys are declining, it is imperative to address the core factors that contribute to this trend. During this session, we delve into the critical need for universities to make concerted efforts to ensure their workforce feels genuinely valued. Low employee satisfaction not only jeopardizes productivity but also paves the way for high turnover rates, a challenge exacerbated by the typically lower salaries within higher education compared to the market. However, the mission-driven nature of higher education remains a powerful magnet for employees, drawing them to a sector where purpose often outweighs financial incentives. However, Universities can do more to ensure employees feel empowered, align with the institution’s mission, and feel like they are making a meaningful impact. Our program will spotlight a compelling case study from Texas Tech, illustrating a comprehensive transformation that realigned employee activities and business processes to be more strategic, fostering a heightened sense of value, and ultimately resulting in increased satisfaction and productivity. Actionable insights and strategies will be discussed that will empower your institution to create an environment where employees thrive and contribute meaningfully to the mission-driven higher education landscape.

Learning Objectives

1. Understanding the Factors Impacting Employee Satisfaction: Participants will gain insight into the various factors influencing low employee satisfaction within higher education, including the challenges posed by comparatively lower salaries and the importance of aligning employee activities with strategic goals.
2. Strategies for Enhancing Employee Value and Satisfaction: Attendees will learn actionable strategies for fostering a work environment where employees feel valued, recognized, and motivated. The program will provide practical approaches to boost job satisfaction, increase productivity, and reduce turnover.
3. Application of Transformative Practices: Through the Texas Tech case study, participants will explore a real-world example of a successful transformation in higher education. Learning from this case, attendees will be equipped to apply transformative practices within their own institutions, aligning employee activities to be more strategic and improving overall satisfaction and productivity.

Speakers

John Marchisin, Managing Director, AArete

John Marchisin has over 30+ years of cross–industry consulting and operations improvement experience. He continues to provide profit improvement services to a range of companies including higher education, healthcare providers, healthcare payers, technology, retail, and others. His work includes strategic profitability improvement, revenue cycle improvements, gross margin improvements, process redesign, technology implementation services, and sustainability impact reporting. John has a particular focus on organizational change management supporting his clients in developing strategies for advancing their business to meet new business and regulatory challenges. He is a known innovator and driver of change that produces results by communicating with all levels of the organization. John has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management Information Systems from Pace University, is a member of HFMA, and is a published author in Managed Healthcare Executive, CFO, and Financial Executives.

Nancy Cartwright, Assistant Managing Director - Strategic Acquisitions, Texas Tech University

Nancy Cartwright has been with Texas Tech University since 2014. She currently serves as the Assistant Managing Director for Strategic Acquisitions. Nancy is an experienced and comfortable public speaker and communicator and enjoys engaging in and leading Procurement trainings at Texas Tech. She currently holds her Texas CTCD and CTCM Certifications and continually looks for opportunities to learn and increase her Procurement and leadership knowledge base.