Description
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, Missouri
Saint Louis University (SLU), a nationally recognized Jesuit research university with a thriving global footprint, seeks an experienced, collaborative and mission-driven leader to serve as its Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer.
This executive will join SLU at a pivotal moment in its 208 year history. With a new strategic plan under development, a renewed emphasis on the holistic education and success of the student, its recent rise to R1 designation, and the arrival of a new president, Dr. Edward Feser, SLU is well positioned for its next chapter. Building on a deep commitment to student success, growing research ambition, and broad community impact, the University seeks an individual who can lead efforts to translate strategic priorities into integrated budget and financial models, technology-enabled and secure operations, high quality facilities, and aligned investments.
Reporting directly to the President, the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer (SVPFA/CFO) serves a key member of the senior leadership team. The SVPFA/CFO advises the President on matters of fiscal stewardship, administrative innovation and effectiveness, advanced technology, and long-range capital and space planning, while providing leadership for a broad portfolio that includes finance, budgeting, accounting, treasury, investments, procurement, human resources, information technology, and facilities. The SVPFA/CFO also helps steward the administrative and financial dimensions of SLU’s important partnership with SSM Health. Within that relationship, SSM owns and operates the clinical enterprise on SLU’s South Campus while SLU leads the health sciences teaching and research mission.
The SVPFA/CFO works in especially close partnership with the Executive Vice President and Provost (EVPP) to develop the University’s budget and align financial planning with institutional priorities. Together, the EVPP and SVPFA/CFO help ensure that academic and administrative decision-making are joined in a coherent, transparent, and sustainable approach to resource allocation. In this way, the SVPFA/CFO plays a central role in advancing SLU’s mission across teaching, research, and health care through sound financial strategy and disciplined and effective operational leadership.
Founded in 1818 as the first university west of the Mississippi River and entrusted to the Society of Jesus in 1829, SLU today enrolls more than 13,300 students who are taught by more than 2,900 faculty across campuses in St. Louis and Madrid, Spain. The University combines a rigorous liberal arts core with graduate and professional schools—including medicine, nursing, law, and business—supported by innovative research programs and more than $60 million annually in sponsored research. SLU attracts students from 93 countries, with international enrollment exceeding 1,850. Its NCAA Division I athletics program adds vibrancy to campus life and the St. Louis community while fueling alumni engagement and enhancing its national reputation. The University’s annual operating budget is more than $600 million, its endowment exceeds $2 billion, and its credit ratings are A1 (Moody's Investors Service) and AA- (S&P Global).
SLU is guided by Catholic and Jesuit values while welcoming people of all faiths and traditions. Its aspiration is not to follow conventional models, but to be a distinctively Jesuit research university uniquely suited to educate graduates who are well-prepared to take ethical, public-spirited and effective action in a rapidly changing world. SLU is striving to elevate educational excellence while advancing research distinction and it welcomes faculty who thrive in both domains. The SVPFA/CFO will work closely with the President, the EVPP, and other senior leaders to design and implement strategies, systems, and practices that best drive innovation, academic quality and impact, and administrative agility and efficiency, positioning SLU for success in a highly competitive higher education landscape.
The successful candidate will be a strategic, entrepreneurial thinker and trusted partner, with a demonstrated capacity to catalyze and implement organizational innovation. They will be a financial and operational leader who can navigate complexity, understand and articulate the drivers of success in the academic enterprise, build partnerships across the University, and proactively lead through change with integrity, humility, and a collaborative spirit. This individual will bring the ability to convene across boundaries, galvanize teams toward shared purpose, respect academic shared governance, and translate aspiration into measurable progress.
SLU has engaged the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to assist in the recruitment of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and CFO. Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. Inquiries, nominations, referrals, and CVs with cover letters should be sent via the Isaacson, Miller website using the following link: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/saint-louis-university/vpfa-chief-financial-officer.
Dan Rodas, Partner
Stephanie Simon, Senior Associate
Nicole Sancilio, Managing Search Coordinator
Isaacson, Miller
Saint Louis University is committed to equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion. The University welcomes candidates from all backgrounds who are inspired by its Catholic, Jesuit mission and values and who will help advance SLU’s commitment to belonging, excellence, and service.
This document has been prepared based on the information provided by Saint Louis University. The material presented in this leadership profile should be relied on for informational purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, the original source documents and information provided by Saint Louis University would supersede any conflicting information in this document.
