Search begins for new budget boss

Maynard Thompson, IU vice chancellor of budgetary administration and planning for the past 14 years, announced his retirement effective at the end of the school year. In a nationwide search for a replacement, Chancellor Sharon Brehm has created a 19-member search-and-screen committee and hired consultants from California search firm Morris & Berger. \n"(The position) is responsible for the administration of the budget and of its planning," Brehm said. "It's a critical position because it involves a very strong focus on the budget of the campus."\nBrehm said the responsibilities of the position could change with the hiring of Thompson's replacement.\n"We have made some modifications to the position," she said. "In the new position, we would want someone who has expertise, dedication and experience in higher education and also someone who would manage the budget.\n"In addition, I would like someone who has an interest in more general administrative elements in the job. These are things like coordinating with, for instance, the vice president of the administration's office in terms of planning of buildings and space. But, in large part, it will be very similar to Maynard's position."\nRobert C. Klemkosky, an associate dean at the Kelley School of Business and chair of the search-and-screen committee, said the biggest change could be the hiring of an applicant without teaching experience.\n"We've had only three people in this position, and all three have been academics," Klemkosky said. "But I think this time we're kind of broadening it out. The search opens it up to both academics and non-academics, as long as they have some experience in higher education."\nCommittee member T. Michael Ford, special assistant to the vice president and chief financial officer, said the position needs to be filled by someone with budgetary and executive experience. \n"It's going to be someone who's strong in both areas," Ford said. "Someone who has a strong financial acumen and someone who has administrative experience working with numerous or multiple units in a University setting, which is very different than, say, working as vice president for a Fortune 500 company."\nKlemkosky said he has already received about a dozen nominations from people in Bloomington and is confident in the national search. \n"We expect to have a good pool of people to choose from," Klemkosky said. "Ultimately, we'll send the chancellor a list of three or four people, and she will make the final decision."\nBrehm said Thompson has fulfilled an important role in the University during his tenure. \n"He's incredibly dedicated, he has great skill, he knows the University extremely well and I think he has done a wonderful job," Brehm said. \nFord said Thompson gained a unique and helpful perspective of the University by continuing to teach while holding the vice chancellor position.\n"He had knowledge of both worlds," Ford said. "He had knowledge of the academic world and the faculty concerns but also knew what it takes to run the University from the administrative side. So I think he was a real nice hybrid kind of an individual who was able to bring both sides of the University, the academic and the administrative, together." \nKlemkosky said Thompson's implementation of Responsibility Centered Management, a program in which the costs and income of each school stay within that school, was one of his main contributions to the University.\n"He's been responsible for getting that system up and running, and that's probably one of his largest contributions," Klemkosky said. "Another of his large contributions is that everybody enjoys working with him. You need a person that has good interpersonal skills, that's for sure, and Maynard certainly has that." \nBrehm said she intends to name Thompson's replacement by July 1.