Saint Mary's College - Vice President for Finance
IN, Notre Dame
Saint Mary’s College seeks a collaborative, strategic, and mission-driven leader to join a remarkable campus community and serve as its next Vice President for Finance (VP for Finance).
This is a pivotal moment of growth and change in Saint Mary’s history. Under the leadership of President Katie Conboy, who joined the Saint Mary’s community in June 2020, the College is moving boldly forward with an ambitious strategic plan: Revere and Revise: Saint Mary’s College 2030. In collaboration with President Conboy, the President’s Cabinet, and the Board of Trustees, the new VP for Finance will serve both as lead financial steward of the College and as a key strategic advisor to the President, supporting the College’s efforts to fulfill Saint Mary’s mission to educate and empower women who will make a difference in the world through creativity, knowledge, skills, faith, and confidence.
A Catholic, women’s college of national standing, Saint Mary’s has a history of empowering women to make a difference in the world. Located in Notre Dame, Indiana, the College was founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross and today enjoys a robust and mutually supportive relationship with the founding congregation. For 179 years, Saint Mary’s College has been providing women with groundbreaking educational opportunities in an environment in which they can thrive. The College has a strong record of developing women’s voices, minds, and values through four years of self-discovery and academic coursework — a mission it now shares with a larger co-educational audience through innovative graduate programs. The College sustains a close-knit undergraduate student community of approximately 1,500 women, 142 faculty, and 315 staff on a beautiful 140-acre campus. Saint Mary’s College has an operating budget of $62 million along with a long-term investment pool of $343 million with an endowment of $309 million as part of that pool as of June 30, 2022. For its entire history, the College has enjoyed a deep connection to the University of Notre Dame, with a number of shared educational and social opportunities for students. For the last decade, Saint Mary’s has invested its endowment with Notre Dame’s investments — a beneficial arrangement for endowment growth.
Reporting directly to President Conboy, partnering with her closely and serving on the President’s executive team, the VP for Finance plays a critical role in developing, communicating, and implementing the fiscal management and operational strategies that sustain the College. The VP for Finance will serve as a vital partner to the President, Provost, Board of Trustees, and other campus leaders as they determine and advance institutional imperatives; strategically align resources to College priorities; devise and implement short- and long-term planning strategies to ensure financial sustainability; continuously assess structures, policies, and practices for maximum effectiveness; and affirm and advance an inclusive campus community that is rooted in equity and empowerment of women.
The VP for Finance is responsible for the strategic leadership and management of the Business Office, Investments, Facilities, Information Technology, Human Resources, Purchasing, and the contract arrangements for auxiliary services — including Campus Stores and Food Services. The new VP for Finance should be a highly collaborative, forward thinking, and solutions-oriented financial leader whose style builds trust within the campus community and across the College’s partners and constituent groups. The VP for Finance will be adept at change management with the ability to advocate for and bolster a suite of College services, motivate and inspire colleagues, and manage complex and intersecting priorities while maintaining forward momentum. A graduate degree in a relevant field and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA) certification is preferred. The VP for Finance will have demonstrated significant and progressively responsible leadership over the financial administrative area; experience in a college or university setting is desired.
All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as two separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the Leadership Profile. Professional references are not requested at this time.
WittKieffer is assisting Saint Mary’s College in this search, which will remain open until an appointment is made.
Application materials should be submitted through WittKieffer’s candidate portal using the buttons below.
Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:
Amy Crutchfield, Natalie Song and Christy Pratt
Saint Mary’s College is a Catholic women’s college. Saint Mary’s considers admission for undergraduate applicants whose sex is female or who consistently live and identify as women. Graduate degree programs are open to all. Saint Mary’s College admission policies are informed by Title IV of the Education Amendments of 1972, which allows for single sex admission policies in institutions that have historically served women.
Outside of these specific undergraduate admission criteria, Saint Mary’s does not discriminate in admission, employment, or administration of its programs and activities on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, military service, or any other characteristic or class protected under federal, state or local law. The College complies with all state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
The mission of Saint Mary’s College is to empower women, through education, at all stages in life. Essential to this mission is fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus experience. This mission is inherently tied to the vision and values of our founders and sponsors, the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Through these values, Saint Mary’s is committed to respecting the dignity of each person and valuing what each individual brings to our community.