Dear colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that Ms. Tracy Hatch has accepted the position of Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Administrative Affairs. She will begin at Metropolitan State on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Ms. Hatch has 18 years of experience in financial and administrative management with Minnesota state agencies, 14 of those with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
For the last four and a half years she has served as the Deputy Commissioner of Transportation, fulfilling the roles of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO). In addition to a BA in business administration, Ms. Hatch holds an MBA in finance and an MA in management-change leadership from the College of Saint Scholastica.
I am extremely grateful to Mr. Bruce Biser, who has served as the interim CFO since December 2015. During Bruce’s term the university has introduced more transparent reporting of financial results, substantially improved customer service to campus and implemented an improved budgeting process. He has dealt with several retirements and hired a strong team in both financial management and facilities. Bruce will assist with transition work and handle some additional special projects through the end of February 2018. Please join me in thanking Bruce for his contributions to the work of the university over the past two years.
I also want to thank the members of the search committee for their excellent and diligent work. They met my goal of completing the search by the end of the calendar year, which meant holding to a very tight search schedule. I am very appreciative of their dedication and willingness to prioritize this work. I know there were some very long days! They presented an outstanding group of candidates for my consideration. The committee included:
- Steve Reed, Chief Information Officer, chair of the search committee
- Shelly Heller, assistant to the president, search support
- Allen Bellas, College of Management, IFO
- Chris Milbrath, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, IFO
- Lois Larson, director, Financial Aid, MSUAASF
- Khatija Khan, Financial Management, MAPE
- Travis Morgan, Center for Online Learning, MAPE
- Chong Her, Building Services, AFSCME
- Thomas Maida, director, Safety & Security, MMA
- Mai Phan, student
- René Antrop-González, dean, School of Urban Education
- Dina Inderlee, coordinator of Academic Operations, ASA
I want to also thank everyone who participated in open forums or interview sessions, and gave feedback on the candidates. Your insights helped me to make a decision that I believe positions the university well for the future.
I will host a campus reception for Tracy soon after she begins. Please watch for an announcement in mid-January.
Best wishes,
President Virginia "Ginny" Arthur, JD
@MetroPresArthur
Metropolitan State University