Vice President of Administration and Finance

An Invitation to Apply for the Position of

Vice President of Administration and Finance

Union College

Schenectady, New York

The Search 

Union College, a historic, distinguished and highly selective residential liberal arts college, seeks a collaborative and strategic professional with expertise in both financial strategy and business operations to become its next Vice President of Administration and Finance (“VPAF”). This is a tremendous opportunity for an accomplished leader to oversee and strengthen the financial units in order to execute the College’s strategic plan, support innovation, and. This individual will also clearly communicate with expertise the financial goals and opportunities to the college community.

Founded in 1795, and located in Schenectady, New York, Union College was the first college chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York and is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the nation. As the first college to redefine the traditional liberal arts education with modern languages, science, and engineering early in its history, Union is committed to integrating the humanities and social sciences with science and engineering in new and exciting ways. A Union education is rigorous, innovative, and encourages its more than 2,000 students to work beyond the limits of disciplinary boundaries, allowing them to think globally and lead creatively in a world where problem solving requires breadth across humanities, arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering without sacrificing depth of preparation. 

Union is fiscally strong. In the past decade, the College has received a record number of applications and early decision requests; sustained its commitment to inclusive excellence through expanded academic opportunity programs and increased diversity; constructed and renovated 14 buildings; strengthened the infrastructure and resources to support robust faculty and undergraduate research experiences; and won a NCAA Division I hockey championship with an impressive group of scholar athletes. In 2020, the College completed and opened a $100 million integrated science and engineering complex – the most ambitious project in the College’s history.

The VPAF will oversee all financial operations and many business functions, steward the College’s assets, and manage risks prudently and in alignment with Union’s mission and vision. This leader will report to the President of the College, be an active member of the President’s senior leadership team and will work collaboratively with the other members of the senior staff. The VPAF will provide strategic leadership of a complex portfolio of services including finance, facilities management, human resources, and various auxiliary services. Serving as the College’s chief financial officer, the VPAF will have direct oversight of Union’s $134.4 million operating budget, partner with the Board’s Investment Committee on management of the $478 million endowment, and oversee approximately 215 staff.

The ideal candidate will be an inventive and experienced leader who is well versed in trends and best practices in higher education financial management and associated administrative areas. The ideal candidate will bring to the position integrity, strong analytic skills, exceptional communication skills, ability to partner with leaders within and outside of the College, and enthusiasm for Union College’s distinctive mission – to develop in its students the analytic and reflective abilities needed to become engaged, innovative, and ethical contributors to an increasingly diverse, global, and technologically complex society. The individual will possess significant strategic leadership experience in financial planning and analysis, preferably in higher education.

Union College has retained the services of Isaacson, Miller—a national executive search firm—to assist in conducting this important search and to help identify outstanding candidates. All inquiries, applications, and nominations for this opportunity should be directed to the search firm as indicated at the end of this document.

To Apply

Confidential inquiries, nominations/referrals, and resumes with cover letters can be sent electronically and in confidence to:

Dan Rodas, Partner

Berlinda Mojica, Associate

Micah Pierce, Managing Associate

Isaacson, Miller

www.imsearch.com/7881

Union College is an equal opportunity employer and strongly committed to student and workforce diversity.

Union College is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its application process for individuals with disabilities and encourages applicants with disabilities to request any needed accommodation(s).