Vice President for Finance and Administration. Pratt Institute Brooklyn, NY

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1 Vice President for Finance and Administration Pratt Institute Brooklyn, NY December 2014

2 Vice President for Finance and Administration Pratt Institute Pratt Institute, one of the nation s most respected and highly ranked art and design schools, located in Brooklyn, New York is seeking an individual with exceptional financial, strategic and interpersonal skills to join the Institute s senior leadership team as Vice President for Finance and Administration (VP). Reporting directly to the President, the VP serves as the Chief Financial Officer and provides direct and strategic leadership in the areas of Finance and Accounting, Budget, Human Resources, Security, and Campus Facilities. Bringing significant leadership experience, the VP will also serve as a liaison between the Institute and the Finance Committee and Treasurer of the Board of Trustees. Pratt Institute Founded in 1887, Pratt Institute is a global leader in higher education dedicated to preparing its 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students for successful careers in art, design, architecture, information and library science, and liberal arts and sciences. Located in a cultural hub with historic campuses in Brooklyn and Manhattan, Pratt is a living lab of craft and creativity with an esteemed faculty of accomplished professionals and scholars who challenge their talented students to transform their passion into meaningful expression. Charles Pratt, a pioneer in the US petroleum industry, founded the Institute in 1887 to enable working-class men and women to receive an affordable education. The Institute, which taught skills such as mechanical drawing and furniture making, was also one of the first colleges in the United States open to anyone regardless of gender, race or class. The Pratt Library, which opened in 1896, was the first public library in Brooklyn and the one in the borough for the next fifteen years. Pratt s main Brooklyn campus, a 25-acre landscaped oasis in Clinton Hill, combines nineteenth-century buildings, many of which have been designated as national landmarks, with modern buildings constructed within the last decade, such as the LEED Gold-certified Myrtle Hall. The main campus, with its meandering paths and century-old trees, is also home to New York City s largest sculpture park. The Manhattan campus is located at 144 West 14th Street, close to Union Square, Chelsea s art district, and many other leading educational and cultural institutions. The seven-story, 80,000-square-foot campus offers state-of-the-art facilities in a distinctive Romanesque Revival building. Pratt s Manhattan-based programs benefit from cutting-edge technology and a prime location. 2

3 Enrolling almost 3,150 undergraduates and nearly 1,500 graduate students, degrees at Pratt are granted by the Schools of Architecture, Art, Design, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Information and Library Science. Ranked among the top design schools by BusinessWeek, Pratt s undergraduate and graduate programs are consistently among the top 10 or 20 in the country and the world. In 2013, DesignIntelligence ranked Pratt s undergraduate Interior Design program fourth in the nation. Pratt s Industrial Design undergraduate program ranked third, while Pratt s undergraduate Architecture program ranked ninth nationally and fourth on the East Coast. The Institute was ranked #20 in U.S. News & World Report s 2013 Guide to America s Best Colleges in the Regional Universities North category. For 2013, Pratt was ranked #1 in New York City and #2 in the country in Global Language Monitor in the Art, Design, and Music School category. Operating revenues for Pratt in the year ending June 30, 2014 were $211 million, up 4.7% from the previous year. The endowment, as of August 2014, is just over $155.8 million. Pratt Leadership In 1993, Dr. Thomas F. Schutte became the 11th president of Pratt Institute. Dr. Schutte came to Pratt after serving for a decade as president of the Rhode Island School of Design and, before that, as president of the Philadelphia College of Art. At the time of his arrival, Pratt had fallen on difficult economic times, as had the local environment. During Dr. Schutte's 20-year tenure, Pratt has become one of the largest and most selective colleges of art, design, and architecture in the world. Dr. Schutte has also made extraordinary improvements to the physical plant of Pratt's 25-acre Brooklyn campus, and he oversaw Pratt s acquisition of a landmark Manhattan building that now houses Pratt's School of Information and Library Science and the Pratt Manhattan Gallery. The area surrounding Pratt has been similarly revitalized, attracting locals and tourists alike, thanks in large part to Dr. Schutte's leading role with the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project and the Brooklyn Arts Council. Ed Rutkowski, the Vice President for Finance and Administration, joined Pratt shortly after Dr. Schutte. Over the past 21 years, he has played a lead role in working with Institutional Advancement, the Board of Trustee's Finance and Audit Committee, and its sub-committee on investments to increase the value of Pratt's endowment from approximately $16 million to over $150 million. During this time, Mr. Rutkowski oversaw the significant increase of Pratt's operational budget from $40 million in 1993 to $220 million. A few of Mr. Rutkowski s more significant efforts at Pratt include the construction of Myrtle Hall, the first LEED Gold certified education building in Brooklyn, the reconstruction of Higgins Hall and the Main Building, and restructure of the Facilities department leading to a better maintained and more beautiful work environment for all. Mr. Rutkowski also oversaw the redesign of the Bursar and Financial Aid offices to provide a more integrated and responsive service to students. These are but a few of the numerous contributions that he has made during his service to Pratt. Provost Peter Barna will also be stepping down at the end of this academic year. Provost Barna has served as Provost since Spring of 2005 and has sought to advance 3

4 Pratt's role as a global innovator through collaborative practice-based learning and community engagement through art and design. He has been instrumental in developing Pratt's academic organizational structures including overseeing the creation of the School of Art and the School of Design. Provost Barna has also led the establishment of new departments of Digital Arts, Photography, and Film/Video as well as new degree programs, minors, and certificate programs and has worked to strengthen the Institute's core academic mission. Recent History The last two decades have been a time of remarkable growth and reinvention for Pratt Institute. In the early 1990s, Pratt s finances, physical plant and location all put the Institute in a precarious position. The endowment had been drawn down, annual operating losses were standard, and there was no attempt at keeping up the campus. The engineering school, which had long been an integral part of Pratt, had just been closed and Pratt s identity and viability were being called into question. Pratt is now in a very different position. Pratt Institute has a focused set of academic initiatives and programs, a strong, well-recognized brand, strong undergraduate enrollment and outstanding financial performance. The Institute has strong relationships with the Board. It has also contributed greatly to the improvement of the neighborhood and is valued as a strong member of the community. Pratt s Vision and Strategic Plan Pratt s vision is to be and to be seen as one of the best institutions of visual, critical and literary learning. It is committed to poetic pragmatism by making critical thinking and creative practice two inseparable halves of the same whole. The mission is to educate artists and creative professionals to be responsible contributors to society. With a firm grounding in the liberal arts and sciences, a Pratt education blends theory with creative application in preparing graduates to become leaders in their professions. The most recent Strategic Plan ( ) revolves around four major themes: 1. Enriching the academic experience through curriculum, innovation, collaboration, and research; 2. Increasing interaction and academic opportunities within Pratt and beyond its gates to educate for a global future, raise Pratt s profile, enhance professional development, and embrace new ideas; 3. Investing in Pratt s physical plant by creating spaces and facilities to support academic collaboration, access to creative resources, and to improve the quality of student life; and, 4. Modernizing Pratt business and academic models to promote a culture of transparency and collaboration and improve Pratt s governance and fundraising infrastructure. The Vice President for Finance and Administration is perfectly situated to play an active role in all of these areas. 4

5 The Position Responsibilities and Opportunities The VP has responsibility for the financial operations of the Institute, including management and development of operating and capital budgets, oversight of investments, ensuring compliance with fiduciary requirements of external agencies, overseeing the budget office, general accounting/controller, purchasing, payroll, student financial services, physical plant, safety and security, human resources, contracted food services, legal counsel support, and risk management. As noted previously, the financial picture at Pratt has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. Measures that were put in place to stabilize and encourage the building of a stronger financial footing have been very successful. As the institution has continued to grow, financial processes and procedures have not been able to keep pace. The incoming VP will have the opportunity to re-conceptualize Pratt s budgeting methodology, in response to dynamically changing academic and administrative needs. The VP will develop and implement new analytical tools to harness and utilize the growing body of data available to academic and administrative leaders on campus. Using both new processes and technology, the VP will work in an inclusive and collaborative fashion to continue and augment Pratt s trajectory. This may include conceptual pieces such as moving towards a culture that aligns local responsibility with authority and accountability, as well as the adoption of new technologies and methods. The simultaneous searches for two very senior positions at Pratt Institute Provost and the Vice President for Finance and Administration bring with them an exciting and bold potential for Pratt. These incoming senior leaders will have the opportunity to work collaboratively under Dr. Schutte s direction to solidify Pratt s position for academic and operational success. Qualifications The successful candidate will be an effective communicator and thoughtful, collaborative leader, committed to developing trusted partnerships with the senior leaders at Pratt. The successful candidate will have many of the following experiences, qualities and attributes: History of work in financial and administrative environments including accounting, facilities, business affairs, public safety and human resources; Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and a strong commitment to collaboration and team building; Demonstrated success in leadership roles, especially the ability to work collaboratively with diverse communities; High degree of professionalism, integrity, honesty and openness; Excellent analytical, creative-thinking and problem-solving skills; Exceptional negotiation skills and strong decision-making skills; Experience supporting governing boards and participating in committees or subgroups of a financial, administrative or operational nature; Ability to influence decisions through personal credibility and sound reasoning; and, 5

6 Knowledge of fund accounting and experience within an educational or other non-profit setting Baccalaureate degree and MBA in finance or accounting or equivalent work experience required, CPA preferred, with significant senior level administrative experience, preferably within higher education. Final candidates will be required to complete a background check successfully. Letters of application, curriculum vitae or nominations may be submitted in confidence to: Elizabeth Adkins Neumann and Kristine O Brien, PhD Brill Neumann Associates Boston, MA Pratt_VPFA@brillneumann.com Pratt institute is an equal opportunity employer and recognizes and values the benefits of a diverse workforce. 6