As the Vice President Finance and Administration I was
responsible for Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities
Management, Ancillary Business Operations and Financial Services.
When I arrived, Cambrian was struggling financially largely as a
result of waste and mismanagement. Cambrian's cash reserves were
nearly depleted from successive deficit budgets, staff were not
engaged and the institution lacked a customer service approach to
delivering services. In the first two years in this position I was
to turn this around, by introducing a level of discipline in
budgeting, while identifying the need to significantly increase
spending on marketing, advertising and recruiting. As a result, I
was able to assist the President in developing a 21st Century
college, on a sustainable financial footing, with a progressive
workforce delivering educational services tailored to meet the needs
of today’s students.
Vice President Finance - Cambrian College
A complete list of my Accomplishments can be viewed by clicking the
link below.
Some of the projects I took on
were:
Led changes in downsizing
workforce to reduce salary/expense ratio to 72% from 77%;
Led institutional change
in IT services with introduction of collaborative, college-wide
change process;
Led acceptance of
significant institutional changes driven by financial necessity,
e.g. Day Care closure;
Successfully led
college-wide strike planning team that developed and executed a
management plan that resulted in the support staff strike having
little or no impact on Cambrian students, while maintaining
positive relationships with the striking employees;
Introduced 3-year
Responsibility-Centered Budgeting aimed at improving accuracy of
budget forecasts;
Introduced the concept of
investing in the future through the allocation of special
funding for Recruiting, Marketing and Advertising aimed at
increasing future enrollments and brand recognition;
Introduced concept of
private investment to address college financial challenges and
successfully gained; Board approval for the first of four Public
Private Partnerships currently being progressed which enabled
the college to retire a $19 million debt and provide funds to
invest in IT and Security Infrastructure.
After five years in this position and in my 65th year I felt that it
was time for me to retire for the second
time. This decision opened the opportunity for me to move back
to my home town that I left nearly 50 years before to join the Navy.
;)
