Senior Vice President for Administration, Finance, and Operations Search

Cover Letter

June 14, 2024

Dear Search Committee Members:

I am writing to you today to express my sincere interest in the opportunities and challenges that the Senior Vice President for Administration, Finance, and Operations (SVP) position with the Wichita State University (WSU) can provide. I am eager to join the WSU team. WSU has a strong rich history dating back to 1895. The university is vibrant and growing (trend-bucking growth), which is not something many colleges and universities can say at this time. I share the university leadership’s views on many fronts to include service to students and revenue diversification. As a career finance professional, I work diligently to do my part to ensure affordability and access for all students. Further, I wish to be a part of WSU as the university has a strong research presence with plans to expand and grow its research to the point of R1 status. While I fully support any and all research initiatives, I really have a heart for the work and research being done in the aerospace field. I am truly excited about the opportunity to join an student-centric, thriving institution that is also community and research minded.

I believe I possess the quality experience as well as the necessary skills and abilities to be successful WSU’s SVP. I am a thought partner that will assist the President and the Executive Team in making informed decisions for financially sound expansion and growth opportunities. I am accustomed to strategic planning and return on investment analysis. I believe in being creative with revenue diversification. I have overseen various public-private partnerships and private-private partnerships in my career that ultimately led to successful academic programs being created that were also good revenue drivers. I have experience meeting with and working with various political figures to include governors, deputy governors, and legislators to advocate for equitable funding. I want to do this for WSU.

Additionally, here are some further ways I am well poised to be Wichita State’s Senior Vice President for Administration, Finance, and Operations. I also produce long-term financial forecasts including long-term cash flow projections to ensure we are using our resources in the best possible way and exploring all possible pathways while keeping a close eye on performance to maximize credit ratings and to keep positive community and partner relations. I have worked on and written plans specific to funding and maintaining capital and facilities as well as information technology replacement and sustainability. I can advise very well on budgets as well as the best practices an inclusive and transparent budgeting model. After implementing two ERPs and being in the midst of implementing my 3rd ERP, I can also advise on matters financial systems and technology.

I received both my bachelor’s degree in accounting (1998) and my Master of Accountancy (2003) from the University of South Florida. I completed my Master of Business Administration program at Virginia Tech in August of 2008 as well as my bachelor’s degree in finance from Liberty University (2014). I maintained full time employment while earning my bachelor’s degree and 2nd master’s degree. For the most part, I did the same while earning my 1st master’s degree. I am currently working on my doctorate degree in the Executive Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership (Higher Education Administration) at the College of William & Mary. I have attained a great deal of valuable experience since earning my first B.S. degree (accounting) over 25 years ago, with 19 years of that experience coming in the college/university setting, both large and small, public, and private.

At present, I am the Vice President for Finance and Administration at Western Illinois University (WIU), a public university with approximately 1,400 full time employees and nearly $215 million annual operating budget. I currently oversee a division of 250 staff with eight direct reports in the following areas: Business and Finance, Budget, Risk Management, Human Resources, Equal Opportunity & Access, Financial Aid, Facilities Management, and Information Technology. Among many things here at WIU, I have overseen the procurement of a multimillion-dollar ERP system, for which design/implementation begins this month. Also, I am currently overseeing the construction of a state of the art $120 million Center for the Performing Arts.

In my previous position with Richard Bland College, I oversaw an effort to begin a shared services consortium in Virginia. Also at RBC, after inheriting 13 audit points and a SACSCOC “warning” status, I quickly led teams to clear 11 of the 13 audit points as well as being removed from “warning” status within one full year. In the second year, the remaining two audit points were removed giving RBC a clean audit. This was accomplished while simultaneously balancing the budget and building the reserves for the first time in years.

I have been an adjunct instructor for Liberty University for 16 years. I certainly understand the core mission of education and building new and innovative academic programs. As well, I certainly understand the importance of collaboration through partnerships, building grants and research, as well as reading the changing landscape of higher education to understand the role of online education especially in today’s environment. In my previous position with the University of Tennessee’s Health Science Center, along with finance, IT, and HR functions, I also oversaw facilities and space utilization functions as well. Also, compliance is and has been embedded in every position I have held. I am versed in the academic as well as administrative functions of a university.

I enjoy being challenged. I am an outside of the box thinker, and I am rather creative/innovative. I don’t like to say “no”, instead I like to ask, “how can I help you achieve your goals?” If I hadn’t started as an accountant, I would be a psychologist. I believe relationships are crucial to success. I am a strategic risktaker who is nimble and thrives on finding creative solutions to problems and challenges. I enjoy building and advancing initiatives and strategic goals. I am not a micromanager. I very much believe in an authentic, servant type of leadership. I am an energetic, results driven leader who stimulates positive outcomes through the use of best practices and an engaged team. While I certainly keep the big picture in mind, I am detail-oriented and possess very strong analytical skills. My strong organizational skills allow me to be able to handle multiple tasks. My problem-solving skills are excellent, and I am a critical/logical thinker. I have the ability to clearly communicate both verbally and in writing to a wide variety of audiences. I have experience communicating and presenting to a variety of audiences to include Board members, executives, faculty, staff, students, legislators, and auditors.

I am committed to diversity and inclusion within my life as a whole, but also very specifically within my workplace and professional setting. I believe promoting diversity comes down to focus and persistence. I also believe promoting diversity is not accidental as it must be very intentional. I think that forward-looking organizations take its diversity seriously and build it into day-to-day management. As it pertains to acting on these values as a leader/manager in my higher education setting, I act with purpose and intentionality daily. While I have certainly built diversity/inclusivity into my daily thinking and overall management philosophy and mindset, I am seeking to build up those around me in all ways, yet specifically in this arena as this will be a critically important linchpin is the success story of our teams and the university as a whole. Even though higher education is fairly resistant to change sticking with the old ways of doing things, I firmly believe our future success will come through the innovation that the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and points of view will offer because I think to continue the way we always have is recipe for stagnation or worse yet, failure, and thus to continue to thrive in the future of what higher education will likely be shaped to be, we will need to innovate. I will purposefully and intentionally foster an environment of diversity and inclusion because it is the right thing to do, but it will also lead to the innovation necessary to succeed as well.

I am a military veteran who has a very strong work ethic that is coupled with a great desire to learn. I have a heart and mind for service to others. I enjoy being an agent for positive change. Further, I love planning for growth as well as other positive, innovative, and exciting advancements. I am a seasoned, transparent, forward-thinking, team-oriented leader who looks forward to joining a team of enthusiastic educators ready Edwards, to support and carry forward the university’s strategic plan in support of a shared mission and vision through excellence and innovation. I believe my experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities would be a great benefit to WSU and I am confident that I can make an immediate contribution.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have or to arrange a time to meet. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Paul S. Edwards

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Paul S. Edwards

Work Experience

July 2023-Present — Vice President for Finance and Administration, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. Reporting to the President, perform a variety of functions in this cabinet level position to include supervisory and oversight duties of the departments of Business & Finance, Budget, Human Resources, Financial Aid, Facilities Management, and Information Technology. This includes, but is not limited to, the following functional areas: general accounting, fixed assets accounting, student accounts, cashiering, accounts payable, procurement, budgeting, financial reporting, human resources, payroll, financial aid, all facilities maintenance and management, risk management, insurance, information technology and security. Oversee the University’s annual audit process. Oversee all capital projects, financing arrangements, and contract negotiations. Maintain and oversee best practices in financial planning, management, and analysis as well as the university’s annual budget preparation and analysis in order to focus energy and resources to support and achieve the specific goals of the university’s strategic plan and financial objectives.

Oct 2007-Present — Adjunct Professor of Accounting & Business, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, Perform all functions of an accounting and business instructor in the online environment to include posting announcements, posting assignments, grading papers/projects/exams/discussion board assignments. Also communicate with students in person, via email and by phone to offer guidance/instruction/encouragement and to field questions.

Sept 2018-May 2023 — Chief Business Officer, Richard Bland College of the College of William & Mary, Petersburg, VA. Perform a variety of functions to include supervisory duties over the Business & Finance, Human Resources (HR), and Information Technology (IT) functions. This includes, but is not limited to, the following areas: general accounting, fixed assets accounting, student accounts, cashiering, accounts payable, procurement, budgeting, financial reporting, human resources, payroll, information technology and security. Maintain and oversee best practices in financial management and analysis as well as the college’s annual budget preparation and analysis in order to focus energy and resources to support and achieve the specific goals of the college’s strategic plan and financial objectives. Oversee the College’s annual audit by the Auditor of Public Accounts. Develop and provide appropriate training and professional development opportunities within the Finance, HR, & IT departments as well as in the College as a whole.

Nov 2016-Aug 2018 — Assistant Dean, Finance & Administration, University of Tennessee, College of Health Professions, Memphis, TN. Serve as the college’s Chief Business Officer. Maintain and oversee the financial management and analysis as well as the annual budget preparation and analysis for the college. Review and approve expenditures, reconciliations, contracts and grants for the college. New program analysis. Oversee the operational and administrative functions of the college, including development and implementation of policies and procedures, day-to-day and long-term operational issues, facilities, space utilization, human resources, information management and technology. Focus resources to meet the specific goals of the college’s strategic plan. Manage the college’s staff. Develop and implement appropriate training and professional development opportunities to meet individual and organizational needs.

Aug 2014-June 2016 — Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs, Kentucky State University, Lexington, KY. Perform a variety of functions to include supervisory duties over the accounting services area to include three direct reports and six indirect reports; areas supervised include financial reporting (internal & external), fixed assets, investments, accounts payable, grants accounting and reporting, NCAA reporting, general accounting to include various account and bank reconciliations and general ledger and subsidiary ledger maintenance, and special projects as assigned. Also, serve on various reimplementation teams for the University’s Banner ERP system and serve as the Finance module manager. Also, responsible for coordinating and facilitating the annual audit of the financial statements with the University’s external auditors. Other positions held at KSU – Director of Accounting.

May 2007-Aug 2014 — Manager of Accounting, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA. Perform a variety of functions to include supervisory duties over the accounting dept. to include 15 senior and staff accountants; preparation of monthly, quarterly and yearly financial statements (including public and internal management statements and reports) to include supporting schedules and footnotes, fixed assets, investments, NCAA reporting, various account and bank reconciliations, general ledger and subsidiary ledger maintenance, write various policies and procedures (including for the new ERP system and to strengthen internal controls), and special projects as assigned. Also, serve on various implementation teams for the University’s new Banner ERP system. Also, responsible for coordinating and facilitating the annual audit of the financial statements with the University’s external auditors.

Apr 2005-May 2007 — Senior Accountant, Longwood University, Farmville, VA. Perform a variety of functions in the Accounting and Financial Reporting Dept which include supervisory duties of General Accountant staff, bond & grant reimbursements, analyzing and reconciling various accounts including payroll and auxiliary enterprise expenditure accounts, analyzing costs, researching problems, writing policies & procedures, reviewing and preparing schedules, analyzing and preparing financial statements, maintaining the general and subsidiary ledgers by analyzing and preparing bank and other agency/account reconciliations (including (CARS to FRS/Banner) revenue, expenditure, cash, fixed assets, appropriations and healthcare) and by preparing journal entries (CARS/FRS and Banner), and working with various Excel spreadsheets and other agency specific software. Served on the Fixed Assets Module Team for the implementation of LU’s new Banner ERP system. Also, served as the Department Team Lead on the University’s Business Impact Analysis & Risk Assessment Team.

Education

• Ed.D. - Higher Education Administration, College of William & Mary. (Expected May 2025)
• B.S. - Finance, Liberty University. (May 2014)
• B.A. - Business Administration, Virginia Tech. (August 2008)
• M.Acc. - Accounting. The University of South Florida. (December 2003)
• B.S. - Accounting. The University of South Florida. (August 1998)
• A.A. - Accounting. Polk Community College. (December 1995)

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Experience with a variety of Financial and ERP Systems including Ellucian’s Banner Strong analytical and spreadsheet skills – Advanced Excel User Intermediate Access User
• Organized and detail-oriented, can review and analyze data to prepare a variety of schedules
• Sound understanding of GAAP and Internal Controls
• Experience with general accounting and subsidiary ledger systems
• Exposure to GASB and other aspects of governmental accounting including the FAR and CAS Created template for Financial Statements in the GASB 34/35 Format

Honors and Activities

• Service with Excellence Award from Liberty University – October 2014
• Coach in the Charlotte County Youth Football League 2005 – 2010
• Member of the Charlotte County Youth Football League Board of Directors 2006 – 2011
• Coach in the Timberlake Youth Basketball League 2010 – 2013
• Member of the USF Alumni Association
• Member of the VT Alumni Association
• Member of the American Legion
• 2004 USF College of Business Administration Business Ethics Essay Contest – 3rd Place Winner
• Former Member of the Accounting Circle at the University of South Florida
• Former Member of the Polk Community College Brain Bowl Team
• Florida Academic Scholar

Military

• Apr 1992-May 1994 Machinist, U.S. Navy, Norfolk, VA.
  • Honorably Discharged
  • Division Training Petty Officer
  • Three Time Distinguished Military Graduate

Cover Letter

June 10, 2024

Dear Search Committee Members,

As a senior executive with nearly 20 years' experience in economic development, business research, finance leadership and business management with a proven ability to drive strategic initiatives and execute leadership priorities, ti is with great enthusiasm I apply for the position of Senior Vice President for Administration, Finance and Operations.

In my current position as Director, Corporate Business Management at Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., I lead with the primary objective of executing business needs of our senior leadership team, reporting directly to the CEO. This role is exceptionally varied in scope and responsibility:

• Communicate and support the needs of our Board of Directors
• Align the CEOs Senior Leadership team to drive priorities and objectives
• Collaborate to execute strategic decisions and ensure alignment of resources with global and cross-functional teams managing $7B corporation
• Provide awareness and advice to the Senior and Executive Leadership Teams related to business operations, financial risks and opportunities, and performance to strategic plan
• Support customer and supplier negotiations with development of executive materials
• Connect performance with financial targets and develop corrective action
• Lead alignment between business, information technology and data analytics teams to a common goal of information transparency
• Establish standards, processes and tools to enable decision making
• Manage and develop a team supporting and reporting to top levels of leadership
• Serve as a trusted advisor to all levels and corporate functions
• Earn the right to manage without direct authority by embracing a culture of transparency, collaboration and inspiration, that encourages teams to speak out

On any given day, I could be running analysis to support customer negotiations, meeting with leadership on performance variance and helping formulate a plan of realistic corrective action, managing headcounts and offering efficiency guidance, leading functional discussions to define transformation projects, suggesting ways to streamline processes, or influencing leaders to achieve preferred outcomes. This experience has afforded me the opportunity to see and influence the "big picture" while driving daily activities to achieve it. Success in this role requires education, experience, and ambition, but more importantly, the ability to create and sustain trusting relationships across the enterprise.

Prior to corporate business management, I was the Director, Boeing Twin Aisle Finance managing our 747, 767, 777 and 787 product lines, a $1B business segment. Finance responsibilities included setting short- and long-term financial plans with cross-functional teams, managing monthly reporting and variance analysis, evaluating risks and opportunities, ensuring compliance with company and regulatory requirements, and providing analysis and insight to business operations. Much of this business segment was in forward loss requiring management of day-to-day expenditures to ensure adherence to budget while also identifying and prioritizing long-term cost reduction projects within engineering, operations, and supply chain to enable break-even margin. In addition, I led this team through the 737MAX grounding and the COVID pandemic implementing cost reductions while positioning ourselves for future recovery.

My first traditional finance role was in 2016, managing corporate pricing and analytics supporting new business and transfer of work opportunities. I established the corporate standard for cost benefit analysis enabling measurement of opportunities to prioritize limited resources. Early on, I supported the expansion of our Malaysia facility to accommodate a potential new work statement. The relocation freed space in Wichita facilities for rate increases. This led to a $450M profit/loss finance role as Senior Manager and controller for the Malaysia site, responsible for site financials and tasked with filling the site with optimal scopes of work. My role bridged the communication gap from Wichita to Malaysia ensuring inventory levels, production levels, supply chain pricing, and headcount curves were in line with approved business cases.

In fall 2012, I joined Spirit's corporate strategy department. At the time, Spirit was in a difficult position having recently hired a new CEO and nearly new senior leadership team. I reported directly to the new SVP of corporate strategy who, prior to Spirit, was one of the top three Wall Street analysts in aerospace and defense for the previous 20 years. Needless to say, I learned aerospace at an accelerated pace working on projects to determine long-term viability of product lines, identified key customer and suppliers' strength and weaknesses, completed financial valuation in the marketplace, and assessed competitors. Many of the projects are still impacting aerospace today such as slowing of twin aisle production, supply chain instability at unprecedented single aisle rates, lack of skilled labor, and supply chain consolidation.

I started my career at Wichita State University (WSU) working at the Center for Economic Development and Business Research (CEDBR) learning the practical application of economic theory in business. As a graduate assistant, I compiled economic articles relevant to the Wichita community for a weekly distribution service. With my bachelor's degree in hand, I assumed a full-time role on the CEDBR staff. I developed and operated econometric models to forecast employment levels in Wichita and Kansas, modeled the fiscal and economic analysis for city, county and state incentive funding for businesses, and managed large research projects assessing the economic conditions and proposed project impacts in the community. I worked with the Wichita Chamber of Commerce, the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors, the Department of Commerce, local economic development authorities and small businesses. This skillset is the foundation for my career and speaks to the benefits of giving students applied experience in their respective disciplines while in college.

The day I turned in my master's thesis, I was called into the chair of the economics departments office. It was a surprise when he offered me the opportunity teaching introductory macro and microeconomics the following semester. Teaching is a humbling experience. There is very little learning curve allowance from college students. Teaching taught me to communicate effectively with a diverse group of people. I taught through the Spring 2015 semester having been awarded the Barton School Instructor of the Year in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

In addition to my formal role at Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., I continue to support education and economic development. I have led intern classes at Spirit and graduate assistants at WSU, advocated for entry level roles to allow for on-the-job learning, acted as an advisor to the WSU Economics Department, met with students at request of professors, led Barton School Professional Edge sessions, and am a member of the Greater Wichita Partnership Strategic Advisory Team.

I look forward to the opportunity to work at Wichita State University once again. My career has not always followed a logical path. That said, it has afforded me with the experience necessary to effectively lead a large administration, finance, and operations organization. I am excited to directly support WSU's growth once again in alignment with the economic prosperity of the local community. I appreciate your consideration and am available to discuss this role further at your convenience.

Thank you,

Kasey N. Jolly

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Kasey N. Jolly

Collaborative leader and effective communicator with experience leading teams across seven global sites, leading projects across a matrix organization, and leading individuals from executive level to analysts. Responsible for communicating strategy and deliverables, executing corporate initiatives, developing innovative solutions through analytics, and driving projects to completion.

Demonstrated Achievements

Professional Experience

Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., Wichita KS

Director, Corporate Business Management - November 2023 – Present
Director, Commercial Business Management - November 2021 – October 2023

Chief of Staff to President & CEO

• • • Advise and provide analysis and business insights to executive leadership team of $7B business.

    • Manage CEO priorities with cross functional executive teams.

    • Consolidate information from global sites for executive, board and external reporting.

    • Create presentations and materials on behalf of CEO for executive, board and external reporting.

Support corporate strategic projects and set baselines for program management

• • • Develop and execute corporate strategic initiatives.
    • Produce project plans with milestone tracking for alignment and transparent communication.
    • Influence project management best practices across the enterprise.
    • Evaluate and implement improvements to program and project management best practices.

Lead data analytics team to transform data into actionable information

• • • Automate tasks to improve efficiencies, design data tools for repeatability.
    • Standardize and accurately report KPIs; ensure tie to audit requirements and financial outcomes.
    • Identify root cause of performance trends and anomalies and advise of corrective actions.
    • Implement predictive analytics and tools to deliver consistent outcomes.

Director, Twin Aisle Programs - September 2020 – October 2021
Senior Manager, Airbus Programs - March 2018 – August 2020
Manager, Pricing and Business Analytics - March 2016 – March 2018

Managed financial forecasting, variance analysis and month-end close activities of $1B scope of work.

• • • Engaged cross functional team to provide operating performance and financial scenario planning.

    • Facilitated communication between functions to ensure accurate financial forecasts with adherence to corporate compliance and accounting requirements.

    • Drove profitability improvements and measured progress towards performance goals.

    • Provided financial modeling to business development opportunities and work transfers.

    • Developed forward material and labor rates used in contract negotiations.

Market Research Analyst – Corporate Strategy November 2012 – March 2016

Provided CEO and executive leadership with customer, market, competitor and industry intelligence.

• • • Developed 30-year aerospace forecast for annual Board of Director strategy meeting.

    • Estimated value of potential market opportunities and risks incorporating leading aerospace indicators.

    • Identified pipeline of acquisition targets and initial financial/market overview.

Wichita State University

Senior Research Economist, CEDBR, Wichita, KS - May 2005 – November 2012

Began working at WSU as a graduate assistant; progressed to Senior Research Economist.

• • • Acted as consultant on research projects for business, government and trade groups.

    • Led project management, design and implementation.

    • Oversaw economic modeling and financial analysis, statistical analysis and macroeconomic research.

    • Developed and administered quantitative and qualitative surveys and reported findings.

    • Presented complex materials to diverse groups including industry and government leaders.

Instructor, Economics Department, Wichita, KS - Fall 2008 – Spring 2015

• • • 2 classes of 50+ students each in principles of macroeconomics and microeconomics per semester.

    • 2010, 2012 and 2013 Awarded Instructor of the Year - Barton School of Business

Education

Master of Arts – Economics - Wichita State University, Wichita, KS

Bachelor of Business Administration - Economics - Wichita State University, Wichita, KS

Community Leadership

Strategic Advisory Team, July 2022 – Present, Greater Wichita Partnership

Advance Kansas, 2021 Participant, Butler Community College

Your Leadership Edge, 2020 – 2021 Participant, Kansas Leadership Center

Professional Edge, Fall 2020 – Fall 2022, Barton School of Business, Wichita State University,

Advisor to Economics Department,  Fall 2016 – Current, Barton School of Business, Wichita State University

Leadership Wichita, 2011 Inductee, 2013-2016 Trustee, Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce

June 10, 2024

Dear Search Committee,

Please accept this letter of interest regarding the recent vacancy of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations at Wichita State University. As a dedicated public servant, I have spent many years cultivating my leadership skills and financial expertise to help universities be more effective stewards of financial resources while helping students achieve their dreams of pursuing higher education. Currently, I am employed as the Associate Vice President for Financial Services at Montana State University, a Carnegie R1 research institution with 17,000 students at its main campus and an additional5,000 students at affiliate campuses. My position serves as the Controller and Treasurer in a university system with a $700 million operating budget that includes over $230 million in research activities. I serve as the executive in charge of Fiscal Shared Services and University Business Services including Accounting, Accounts Payable, Procurement, and Student Accounts. These business units are collectively comprised of over 100 customer-service oriented, financial professionals. At MSU, I have led the university through an extraordinary transformation and upgrade of business technology not seen in over two decades. Prior to taking this position, the university was largely operating in a paper-based environment. With the onset of the pandemic, I helped guide our enterprise into a modern business powerhouse with the strategic adoption of new software technologies that altered how we process credit card transactions, interface with students in the tuition payment process, facilitate the procure to pay process, and inform decision making through strategic financial planning and analysis. The specific technologies that I provided leadership oversight and guidance on procedural design include Chrome River, Nelnet’s Student Choice Refunds, Jaggaer, and Axiom’s Strategic Financial Planning. These important additions to our business model have aided the university in its desire to gain efficiencies in how we conduct business as the research enterprise and student enrollments grow to new records and effectively demonstrates my abilities to align finance and administration functions with overall organizational goals and objectives.

As a certified public accountant, my baseline area of expertise is in accounting and finance and the positions I’ve held so far have centered around those skills. I have significant experience managing government finance operations, including the interpretation of GASB standards and creating financial statements from the ground up. At MSU, I have been able to streamline the financial statement preparation process by redesigning our Workiva software and integrating it with Adobe InDesign to deliver modern financial statements integrated with our ERP system. This modernization allows for fast, efficient updates of trial balances that flow directly to the financial statements as changes are made. I am particularly proud of my accomplishments in financial planning and analysis. Over the course of my graduate studies and particularly while completing my PhD dissertation, I spent a significant amount of time honing my financial analysis skills. With that project, I was able to use a fixed effects panel regression to understand the financial impacts of a recession, as measured by the composite financial index, on a university’s ability to mitigate negative financial events. I have been able to apply these techniques at MSU to better inform decision making through scenario and KPI ratio analysis of strategic priorities and investments. In the long-term, this will lead to a more stable financial standing and better financial health.

Today and in previous positions, I am/was the person responsible for the debt portfolio and issuing new debt. At MSU, the $230 debt portfolio contains a mix of traditional public and private placement debt, variable rate debt with related derivative swap interest agreements, and programmed debt through the state of Montana. I have experience managing the financing for projects related to campus infrastructure, residence halls, and recreation facilities. In previous positions as a municipal finance director, I worked to provide different types of financing for numerous development projects including new neighborhoods, downtown redevelopments, and water and sewer infrastructure. Recently, I was able to manage the revision and modernization of Montana State University’s revenue pledge and Indenture of Trust. This revision of the university’s indenture increased available pledged revenues and debt service coverage ratios. It was expected that these changes would lead to improved credit ratings and reduced interest rates on future debt transactions. This is something that MSU has now realized as we have received a credit rating increase from S&P in the last few weeks.

I also have experience in maximizing revenue-generating opportunities. In today’s ultra-competitive environment for students and with the enrollment cliff on the near horizon, universities must be able to manage existing revenues responsibly and think outside the box to discover new revenue sources. No matter how big or small, every dollar can make a difference. In a previous position, I was able to put in place new fees that required property developers to pay their fair share for water and sewer infrastructure. These new utility access fees yielded millions in revenues for the small city I worked for and helped defray the large upfront cost to expand the cities footprint to provide water and wastewater services outside traditional boundaries. At the time, we were the first city in the state of North Dakota to charge developers this type of fee. In the collegiate environment and as the person responsible for the biannual fee inventory at MSU, I was able to work with the Associated Students of MSU to successfully pass a student vote to levy new fees that would go towards the upgrade and expansion of our new Student Health and Wellness Center. This fee is dedicated towards the debt service and operation and maintenance of the facility. In addition, as part of this inventory of fees I am the person charged with developing future tuition rates and working with colleges and departments across the university to maintain our pricing list of student fees and other operational fees.

I work under intense pressure to provide business services for a rapidly growing research environment and work very closely with the Office of Sponsored Programs to provide business support to researchers. As MSU continues to outpace itself and set annual research records, I am able to work with my teams to provide a high level of service year in and year out in spite of continued labor challenges stemming from the pandemic. With the expansion of our embedded Fiscal Shared Services (FSS) teams across the university including in research spaces, we are able to buy our researchers more time to devote to research rather than being bogged down with transactional accounting and grant management. The effects of labor shortages are mitigated as we provide continuity of service with a teams-based approach. With added time for research activities, MSU and its researchers are able to reduce pressure on our core tuition revenues with additional grant opportunities and research revenues. Since my arrival to MSU, the university has gradually grown and been able to maintain over $100 million in new, annual research revenues!

Currently, I manage a relatively lean operating budget of $6 million. 97% of this budget is dedicated towards salaries for my employees with the remainder for normal operating expenses. My conservative approach to fiscal management works well for universities with strained resources and high internal competition for those resources. Over the course of my career and with a particular emphasis on my time working in municipal finance, I have experience creating and managing large budgets and having difficult conversations with organizational leaders. The budgets I’ve created were frequently in excess of $100 million. In addition to building and managing budgets, I have experience revitalizing and revamping a budget process. While at the City of West Fargo, I took an antiquated budget process and improved it so that it aligned with the standards set by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). I reworked a simple, line item budget and turned it into a comprehensive planning document. This budget model reduced internal ambiguity and increased transparency while aligning current and longterm resources with strategic priorities. Overall, I am familiar with all major budgeting methods and can hit the ground running evaluating the current model and redesigning it to better align with priorities if desired.

I consider myself to be great at building and maintaining relationships across the enterprise and with all different kinds of people, no matter the background or expertise. The CFO position typically manages a broad portfolio and requires a leader who is knowledgeable of how the entire university operates. Today, I sit as a member of the Administration and Finance Executive Team at MSU and I work regularly with leadership internal and external to the A&F division. In my position, I regularly consult with my peers in A&F and speak regularly to groups outside of our leadership team that include Staff Council, Faculty Senate, and Research Council. By establishing relationships with people and organizations across campus, I am committing to shared governance and maximizing the potential for success as my and my teams engage and work collaboratively with others.

In addition to my work experience and CPA background, I offer a great advantage to a potential employer to bridge the usual gap between academic operations and university operations due to the perspective I gained through my academic training and associated terminal degree in higher education administration. In this PhD program, I was able to complete coursework on topics ranging from curriculum development, program review, multicultural education, college student experiences and support, academic administration and law, and planning and finance. These particular courses on these important topics helped me gain a greater understanding of the role that universities and academic administrators play in educating students for successful futures. Coupling this with my knowledge of university operations that exist in this position’s portfolio, I am in a perfect position to lead alongside academic leaders to put a university on a continued path to achieving its mission.

These are just a sample of the unique skills and qualifications that I have as a potential candidate for this position. As the search progresses, I hope to have a conversation with the Search Committee on how I might serve the interests of Wichita State University. Along with this letter, I am including my resume for your review. It is my hope that I can help your university make an impact on students’ lives and careers by being given the opportunity to serve as your next Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations.

Sincerely,

Aaron Mitchell

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Executive Summary

• 21 years’ experience including 14 years in government and nonprofit accounting and finance, 4 years in the tourism and hospitality industry, and 3 years in retail sales and customer service.
• Currently serves as a finance executive at Montana State University, a Carnegie R1 research institution and land-grant university of 17,000 students (22,000 system-wide) located in Bozeman, Montana.
• Selected for the 2024/25 NACUBO Fellowship leadership training program.
• Experience financing and designing many large municipal and higher education infrastructure projects including two $100 million sports and recreation centers, a $22 million water resource recovery facility (WRRF), a $25 million downtown redevelopment and revitalization project, $50 million residence hall, and a significant amount of neighborhood development projects that includes utility and street infrastructure.
• Experience in the development and implementation of budgets, strategic growth plans, and capital improvement plans.
• Experience working multiple high-pressure projects simultaneously with tight deadlines.
• Experience working with internal and external auditors on financial statement, financial compliance, and regulatory audits.
• Experience working with local and state government leaders communicating financial needs and objectives. Coordinated alongside state agencies to address unique challenges that were beyond the financial capacity and scope of local governments to solve on their own. Relationships with agency leaders were developed and partnerships were formed between state and local governments to address growth challenges.
• Experienced developing and managing large budgets with high competition for limited resources.
• Holds a master’s degree in public administration and a doctorate in higher education administration. Dissertation focused on land-grant university financial health using the composite financial index.

Professional Experience

Montana State University

Associate Vice President for Financial Services - 2019-current

The finance executive in charge of leading central University Financial Services with departments consisting of Accounts Payable, Accounting, Procurement, Student Accounts, and Fiscal Shared Services. Provides financial oversight and guidance over all aspects of the university’s financial position and provides 4-campus oversight over financial reporting, business services, and internal controls.

• • Oversees the preparation of the MSU system’s consolidated financial statements and manages the university’s debt portfolio under the guidelines of MSU’s bond indenture.
  • Monitors university cash disbursements exceeding $700 million annually and treasury activities with an investment portfolio valued greater than $320 million.
  • Manages the billing and collection of student accounts, student fee inventories, procurement of goods and services, expenses for the university, provision of departmental fiscal shared services across campus, and maintaining compliance with various university, state, federal, and professional regulations, including university tax returns, monitoring of service providers and leading the implementation of new accounting standards.
  • Implemented a new university wide travel and expense managements software, Chrome River.
  • Upgraded student payment systems to Nelnet’s Student Choice Refunds.
  • Successfully transitioned employees to remote work arrangements as a result of COVID-19 and facilitated new paperless procedures to accommodate the online working environment.
  • Completed successful financial statement preparation upgrades including the Workiva redesign and Adobe Indesign integration.
  • Administered the distribution of federal student coronavirus relief funds in excess of $60 million.
  • Successfully worked to update the Master Indenture of Trust, which was last updated in 1993. As part of the new indenture, I worked to manage the refunding of $139 million of bonds in MSU’s debt portfolio alongside gaining approval to issue $22 million of partial funding for the new Student Wellness Project.
  • Managed the adoption of Jaggaer Procurement Solutions redefining the university’s procure to pay process.
  • Serves on the Athletics Budget Steering Committee, Variable Rate Debt Committee, and Persistence to Degree Committee.
  • Graduate of the 2021/22 Developing Excellence in Academic Leadership Program (DEAL) at MSU.
  • Leads monthly campus Controller calls to discuss accounting related topics.

North Dakota University System – Core Technology Services

Controller - 2018-2019

Provided services in financial reporting, budget preparation, budget monitoring and all other financial operations functions related to CTS. Was responsible for providing vision, leadership, planning, project coordination, and management of NDUS Core Technology Services financials, budgeting, and audit functions. Was responsible for analyzing and directing all functional related activities within the financial component of the PeopleSoft/Oracle system.

• • Managed all financial functions and processes related to the operation of the organization.
  • Led the development and maintenance of internal control procedures and practices.
  • Ensured accurate and timely monthly, quarterly, and year-end close in compliance with GAAP and all federal, state and SBHE guidelines. Was responsible for the accurate and timely preparation, analysis, and communication of the internal financial reporting package for senior management.
  • Consulted with legal counsel as appropriate and/or directed by the Vice Chancellor for IT on financial and business process matters.
  • Proposed, published, and administered financial and budgetary policies and procedures.
  • Assured compliance with North Dakota University System and other federal, state, and local policies and procedures.
  • Interpreted, assisted, and advised employees, supervisors and senior management regarding all financial and budgetary policies and make recommendations regarding process enhancements, internal control, and compliance.
  • Provided updates on changes in state and federal employment laws, State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) policies and procedures.
  • Served on the NDUS Staff Senate.

City of West Fargo, ND

Finance Director - 2015-2018

A senior administrative position responsible for the management of accounting, debt management, special assessment collection and certification, utility billing, budgeting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and investments of the city. Provided management, leadership, and coordination over all areas of short-term and long-term financial planning, forecasting, and analysis for the city.

• • Managed a general fund budget of $16 million, and total annual budgets of over $100 million.
  • Managed over 12,000 utility accounts for a high growth city.
  • Coordinated financial statement preparation and the annual external audit with the office of the ND State Auditor.
  • Prepared and managed the yearly budget in coordination with the city administrator, department leaders, and elected officials.
  • Ex-Officio member of the local Economic Development Advisory Council.
  • Experience with Moody’s credit reporting agency.
  • Assisted in the development of West Fargo 2.0, a comprehensive planning document that defined West Fargo’s future growth and management plan.
  • Served on the code enforcement committee.
  • Served on the website redevelopment committee.
  • Completed FEMA ICS training courses 100, 200, 300, and 400 as well as NIMS 700 and 800.
  • Managed a debt portfolio that exceeded $300 million.
  • Managed an investment portfolio that exceeded $70 million.

City of Watford City, ND

Finance Director - 2013-2015

A senior administrative position directing the activities of the municipal finance department and serving as the city’s primary accountant. Work included developing, establishing, and coordinating the financial policies of Watford City in relation to GASB standards and GAAP. Coordinated bond sales and grant writing, levied taxes according to procedures set forth by the Century Code of ND, coordinated the development of the CAFR, administered the internal financial controls, and managed all of Watford City's assets including cash, receivables, and fixed assets.

• • Worked with external consultants to develop a strategic growth plan and financing scenarios to accommodate extreme population growth.
  • Successfully developed new revenues including impact fees to capitalize on growth and reduce out of pocket cash investments in infrastructure. In the first year of the fee, sewer impact fee collections exceeded $2 million.
  • Secured financing for multiple capital projects from various funding sources. These sources included oil impact grants, state revolving fund loans, Bank of ND infrastructure loans, and the municipal bond market.
  • Successfully administered the process for a successful public vote for a 2% sales tax.

City of Williston, ND

Internal Auditor - 2012-2013

City of Williston, ND

Accounting Technician - 2011-2012

Vail Resorts

Mountain Operations Equipment Operator - 2006-2010

Gander Mountain

Sales Associate - 2003-2006

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy, University of North Dakota, Education, Health, and Behavior Studies
• Master of Public Administration, University of North Dakota
• Bachelor of Science, North Dakota State University (Majors in Business Administration and Accounting)

Professional Credentials

• Certified Public Accountant (Active CPA licenses in Montana and North Dakota)
• NACUBO Fellow