IU Names CFO
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana University has named MaryFrances McCourt chief financial officer. She has served in the role on an interim basis since January. McCourt succeeds Neil Theobald, who left to become president of Temple University.
August 9, 2013
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie has appointed MaryFrances McCourt vice president and chief financial officer of the university. The IU Board of Trustees approved the appointment today; it is effective immediately.
McCourt has served as interim vice president and CFO since January 2013. She succeeded Neil Theobald, who left IU to become president of Temple University in Philadelphia.
“MaryFrances has developed a sophisticated understanding of Indiana University's highly complex finances as a result of her eight years of experience here,” IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. “She has done an outstanding job as treasurer and more recently as interim vice president and CFO. I know she will continue to provide strong fiscal leadership and solid guidance for the administration and the Board of Trustees.”
As vice president and CFO, McCourt is the university's top fiscal officer and oversees budgetary and financial issues across seven campuses. She also will continue as university treasurer, a position she has held since 2005. In that capacity, she manages the university's investment portfolio of more than $1.7 billion and a $900 million debt portfolio.
“I am honored to be selected for this role and look forward to helping IU navigate through the headwinds facing higher education while capitalizing on vast opportunities,” McCourt said.
Thomas E. Reilly Jr., chairman of the IU Board of Trustees, said McCourt has been an effective steward of university resources and has performed exceptionally well as interim vice president and CFO.
“In my role as chair of the Board of Trustees Finance and Audit Committee,” Reilly said, “I have appreciated the leadership and financial expertise MaryFrances has provided in ensuring the long-term health and flexibility of the university, her professionalism, her responsiveness to members of the board and to the university's many different constituents, and her keen understanding of financial operations within higher education at large. I have no doubt she will continue to serve the university extremely well in her new role.”
McCourt joined IU from Cleveland-based Agilysys Inc., an enterprise computer technology solutions company, where she was the assistant treasurer. She earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
Her appointment as vice president followed an internal search by a 10-member university committee. Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Indiana University Foundation and chair of the committee, said it conducted a thorough search and screen process to identify viable candidates.
“MaryFrances McCourt has proven abilities related to key factors required for success in this position,” Smith said. “She has a long history of demonstrating a collaborative approach to decision-making and extensive experience in higher education administration. In addition, her integrity, financial acumen, and passion for ensuring a strategic and sustainable long-term financial model for IU make her an excellent choice. I look forward to continuing to work with MaryFrances in her new role.”
The Office of the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer is responsible for most business functions of the university. It provides financial expertise to promote effective stewardship of resources, mitigates financial and operational risk to ensure long-term financial health and flexibility, and performs other tasks essential to the fiscal well-being of the IU community.
The office encompasses the offices of Financial Management Services; Insurance, Loss Control & Claims; Procurement Services/Travel; Treasurer; University Budget Office; University HR Services; and Healthy Engagement. It is responsible for student-centered initiatives focused on affordability, on-time degree completion and financial literacy, along with university projects involving the peer benchmarking of services and the evaluation of a potential long-term parking lease.
Source: Indiana University