Harris Search Associates Seeking CFO for Central State University
April 16, 2025 – Academic institutions continue to pump big fees into executive search firms nationwide. Many academic recruiting specialists say business, in fact, has never been better despite some sectors of executive search slowing over the past year. Even smaller recruiting outfits have multiple assignments running concurrently, all at the senior levels, and if there’s any slowdown coming it is to be found at the talent identification stage. With so much activity, it seems, talent demand is far outstripping the supply. The hunt for interim academic leadership is also picking up pace.
In recent months, a number of top schools have announced they are looking for new, high profile leaders to take them into new eras of fundraising, digitalization, sports and, in some cases, globalization. Just recently, Harris Search Associates was selected by Central State University to lead in its search for its next vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer. Jeffrey Harris and Ed Christ are leading the assignment.
Reporting to the president, and a member of the president’s cabinet, Central State seeks a visionary, strategic financial leader to serve as the chief financial officer of the university. The CFO serves as chief advisor to the president on financial and administrative matters and will be an important resource and fiscal counselor to the board of trustees. The CFO is responsible for the financial and administrative operations of the university, ensuring fiscal sustainability, operational excellence, and compliance with financial regulations.
The ideal candidate will have extensive experience managing financial operations of large, similarly complex organizations, institutions of higher education, government, healthcare or similar not-for-profit organizations, and work collaboratively and transparently to achieve the university’s financial and strategic goals, according to the job specification. In concert with fellow university leaders, deans, faculty, staff, and students, the CFO will support and inspire a culture of innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, calculated investment and risk tolerance; strengthen and lead a team in administration and finance to support a complex, multi-faceted institution; cultivate a strategic vision and priorities for finance and administration; and foster a campus culture of shared governance, communication, transparency, and respect.
The next CFO will be an effective and innovative leader and communicator, relationship builder and an accomplished manager of people, processes, projects, and systems. The ideal candidate will be well versed in higher education trends, best practices in budget models, governance, risk management, internal controls, debt management/issuance, cash management, and associated operational areas. The CFO will have strategic and long-term financial planning skills, excellent staff and project management skills, an understanding of accreditation for academic programs and associated resources, and a collegial working style
Related: In Changing Times, Higher Education Sector Seeks New Types of Leaders
As Ohio’s only public Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and 1890 Land-Grant Institution, Central State is home to approximately 3,100 full-time students. The school’s students study across 39 majors and minors, in addition to an MBA program and pre-professional programs.
An IIC Partners Member Firm
Harris Search Associates, an IIC Partners member firm, is a global higher education executive search and board advisory consulting firm with 44 offices in 33 countries worldwide. The firm’s higher education executive search practice is focused on identifying and attracting leaders to support the growth of clients in the areas of research, science, engineering, academic medicine, and healthcare enterprises. Clients include leading universities, research parks, institutes, academic medical centers, and healthcare organizations driving global innovation and discovery. Founded in 1997, Harris Search Associates was modeled after the first premier management consulting firms, in addition to its Ohio headquarters, the firm has regional offices in San Francisco and Dallas.
The High Demand for Higher Education Leaders Continues
With a new school year approaching, a number of top colleges and universities have announced they are seeking new, high profile leaders to take them into new eras of fundraising, digitalization, sports and, in some cases, globalization. Several universities haven’t changed leaders in years or even decades, and their boards of trustees and search committees are finding an entirely new and highly competitive landscape as they set out. It is another reason why they’re calling in executive recruiters to assist.
Mr. Harris is the founder of the firm and leads the higher education, academic medicine, and healthcare administration practices. Prior to establishing the firm in 1997, Mr. Harris worked five years for a leading retained executive search firm where he concentrated on senior assignments on behalf of leading engineering, research, and health sciences clients. He is the global leader of the IIC Partners higher education/academic medicine practice, and from 2010 to 2013, was appointed to the board of IIC Partners as vice chair for the Americas.
Mr. Christ is an executive search professional and human resources consultant with more than 20 years of experience in non and for-profit industries, including higher education, healthcare/life sciences, engineering and consulting, industrial/manufacturing, and financial services. His executive search experience includes research and recruitment from the C-level executive to the specialized technical level.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
