California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), recognized for its community-based culture of belonging, seeks an innovative, inclusive, and collaborative leader as its next Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer (Vice President).
Founded in 1994, Cal State Monterey Bay is one of the youngest universities in the California State University system. Located along the central coast of California, the CSUMB campus offers a transformative, experience-rich education in a supportive, inclusive, and inspiring environment. While the University is relatively young, the CSUMB campus has grown dramatically from its origins as a U.S. Army base with a rich history dating back to 1917. Over the years, the University has continued to expand and evolve with new academic programs, facilities, and athletic teams. CSUMB is proud to be ranked and recognized as one of the top institutions in the West for social mobility, affordability, and accessibility.
After eight years of enrollment declines, this past year, CSUMB increased FTF, Transfer, and Grad applications by 25%, 40%, and 30%, respectively, and increased deposits by 40%, 60%, and 29%. The Fall 2024 transfer deposit increase may be the largest increase in the country. Impressively, this resulted in an increase of 15.6% in overall enrollment. We are equally proud of an increase in diversity. Applications from Black/African American first-year students increased by 76%, highlighting the success of our targeted approach.
Since its founding, CSUMB has focused on providing students with a diverse and multicultural educational experience and is proud to be an officially designated Hispanic Serving Institution. At CSUMB, excellence is advanced through inclusion and equity, and the University maintains a strong commitment to supporting and addressing the needs of a diverse University community.
The Vice President for Administration and Finance/Chief Financial Officer is a member of the President’s Cabinet and reports directly to the President. Overseeing a campus operating budget of roughly $74 million and a corporation budget of $71 million, the Vice President supervises a total staff of over 250, including seven direct reports. In addition to managing a significant team, the next Vice President will modernize campus operations and enhance departmental effectiveness while also implementing a transparent budget planning process. The Vice President will have the opportunity to creatively develop new revenue streams through external strategic partnerships and to work collaboratively with campus constituents to improve student success metrics. Working with a highly collaborative leadership team, the Vice President will partner effectively to manage change in a fluid higher education landscape and to enhance working relationships across campus.
To succeed in these objectives, the Vice President will bring personal qualities that typify a successful executive leader and strategic partner, including integrity, outstanding judgment, collaboration, vision, agility, humility, and transparency. The Vice President will have the ability to use analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills and to work both collaboratively and independently to ensure the effective management of complex financial and operational units. A comprehensive financial and administrative background with deep experience and technical skills in budgetary management, financial and strategic planning, and enterprise risk management are required.
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and ten years of progressively responsible analytical experience, including four years in the preparation, justification, and analysis, or the control and administration of a major budgetary program, are required. A postgraduate degree in finance or a comparable discipline is highly desired, as is experience with campus master planning, collective bargaining, a deep understanding of government regulations related to higher education, and experience working within university and system-wide policies and procedures.
All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile.
WittKieffer is assisting Cal State Monterey Bay in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by Friday, January 24, 2025.
Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal.
Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:
Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D., Melody Rose, Ph.D., and Kim Migoya
CSUMB-CFO@wittkieffer.com
Compensation Range: $240,000 to $275,000 annually
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer: CSUMB is an Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action employer seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. We value and celebrate diversity in all its forms and strive to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion. We consider qualified applicants for employment for their anticipated contributions and without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status, or disability.
