UNH Announces Candidates for Vice President for Finance and Administration
 
By Lori Wright, Media Relations

Three candidates for Vice President for Finance and Administration will be on campus in the next few weeks for interviews and to participate in public forums open to the university community.

The candidates are: Betty Roberts, associate vice president, University of Houston; Richard Cannon, partner, Cambridge Hill Partners; and Timothy Cross, associate dean for finance and administration, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University.

Betty Roberts
Roberts serves as associate vice president at the University of Houston, responsible for establishing and operating the Technology Support Services Department. She is directly responsible for improving the quality and lowering the expense of a significant computer infrastructure, while minimizing operating costs and generating additional departmental revenue. She has worked across the institution to raise awareness of information technology issues and to provide improved customer service to the campus community. She is responsible for a $12 million budget and the activities of 176 personnel. She serves as chair of the Web Advisory Council and has served on several committees while at the University of Houston.

Previously Roberts was assistant vice president, finance and business at Pennsylvania State University, where she revitalized the underperforming Business Services operations and improved customer service to internal and external constituencies. She oversaw 13 departments, managed facilities issues of the 20-year master plan, and increased the profitability of the Business Services division. She managed $35 million and directed a staff of more than 200, with 60 percent union membership. She was actively involved in committees and other forms of on-campus leadership.

A graduate of Tusculum College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education, Betty received a Master of Education in Elementary Education from the University of Louisville, a Doctor of Science in Education in Higher and Adult Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher and Adult Education, also from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She received a Certification in Financial Management from Cornell University. She is involved in several professional and civic organizations.

Roberts will take questions from faculty and staff at her public forum Friday, Nov. 18, 1:30-2:30 p.m., MUB Theater I.

Richard Cannon
As a partner at Cambridge Hill Partners, Cannon is responsible for leading organizational development consulting for clients such as Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Pfizer, Boston College, and Cornell University. His consulting experience includes facilitating core values/organizational change studies, diversity training, outcomes research, executive assessments of deans and vice presidents, executive coaching, and governance assessment for universities, medical centers, and pharmaceutical companies.

Prior to joining Cambridge Hill, he spent 15 years at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, holding progressively responsible positions in the Department of Health Policy and Management. From 2000 to 2004 he was an instructor at the school and taught the course Universal Health Insurance in America: A Search for Justice, Efficiency, and Quality. From 1988 to 1999 he served as dean for administration and member of the faculty, where he was responsible for the school’s finances, human resource systems, information technology, facilities, and support services. During his tenure as dean, he worked with academic department chairs and senior faculty to coordinate and oversee that plans for academic program development, fiscal capabilities, and physical facilities were in synchrony.

Earlier in his career he worked for Harvard Community Health Plan (now Harvard Pilgrim Health Care) in several capacities. As president of the Medical Groups Division from 1986 to 1988 he was responsible for the wholly owned subsidiary corporation and was a member of the Corporate Policy Group. His previous responsibilities within the company included supervision of vice presidents while he was executive vice president (1982 to 1986) and direction of strategic planning for expansion and major new programs while he was director of planning and development (1976 to 1978).

He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration from Boston College.

Cannon will discuss his qualifications for the VPFA position at a public forum Tuesday, Dec. 6, 1:30-2:30 p.m., MUB Theater I.

Tim Cross
In his role as associate dean for finance and administration at Harvard Divinity School, Cross oversees the supervision of budget and finance, human resources, information technology and media services, physical plant maintenance, dining services, and the bookstore. As the school’s chief operating officer, he provides guidance for other operating units within the school, such as admissions and financial aid, career services, and student life, and serves as a senior School liaison with the University’s central administration. During his nine-year tenure at Harvard Divinity, he has planned and led a $25 million building program involving a $5.5 million conversion project, a $12 million library renovation, and he is directing master planning for further campus improvements. He is also working closely with the dean on an aggressive faculty hiring plan that will ultimately increase the size of the faculty by as much as 50 percent. His other accomplishments include the installation of administrative and instructional technological networks, the design and execution of capital campaigns, and the establishment and strengthening of intellectual, programmatic, and administrative connections with other schools and units at Harvard.

From 2003 to 2004, Cross served as acting associate dean for development at Harvard Divinity, where he was responsible for fundraising, major gifts, and campaign planning. During that time, he reorganized the staff and set a more aggressive productive course for fundraising, with a particular emphasis on leadership annual giving and the expansion of prospect pools. Beyond finance and administration, he also has classroom experience as a university lecturer and instructor. He has lectured in the Department of General Studies at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and has also served as an instructor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Temple University.

Cross received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Dartmouth College. He also holds a Master of Arts in Criminology and a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Cross will discuss his qualifications for the VPFA position at a public forum Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005, 1:30-2:30 p.m. in MUB Theater 1.