Tag: Finance

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Stories In Focus

Joining the P-Staff: Houghton’s New VP of Finance

Vincent Morris, Houghton College’s new Vice President of Finance, started his first day on the job in September. “I suppose I could be considered part of the incoming ‘class of ’20,’” he joked. “Although I don’t know when—or if—I’ll graduate!” Morris moved to Houghton from Chicago, Illinois, over the summer, and has been pleasantly surprised by the weather thus far, prompting what he described as “naïve doubts about the true ferocity of winter in Western New York.”

Morris’s career path prior to Houghton is eclectic and winding, yet unified by a core passion for students. He “served as a youth minister for an enjoyable decade,” worked at Wheaton College as the Director of Risk Management, and most recently worked as higher education consultant for colleges and universities in the United States and around the world. “I missed the influence for Kingdom work as a single higher education institution,” said Morris. “So I was open to listen when President Mullen suggested I consider joining the Houghton team.”

As the Vice President of Finance at Houghton, Morris is responsible for ensuring that the college’s financial resources are managed efficiently and effectively. “Many, many days [are] spent ’rasslin’ with the budget!” said Morris, adding that a major challenge is attempting to keep tuition “at least sort of affordable” despite ever-rising expenses. He added, “[We] do want to meet payroll and keep the heat and power on for those who want to write a late-night paper or have a Fallout binge or shotgun Netflix shows or bake Christmas cookies or have an RDT or whatever. So that takes resource management.”

Morris serves as part of the president’s staff, a group of core advisors to president Shirley Mullen. The “P-staff,” as Morris calls it, is comprised of vice presidents representing a wide range of college departments and offices, from student life to advancement and external relations. According to Jack Connell, Provost and Dean of the Faculty (as well as another member of the president’s staff), members of this team “collaborate closely together . . . in making the numerous administrative, strategic, and budgetary decisions that are required to operate the college.” Connell described Morris as “curious, creative, energetic, insightful, intelligent, and passionate about Christian higher education,” adding that Morris “brings a tremendous amount of experience and expertise” due to his consulting work with colleges and universities.

In addition to his official responsibilities, Morris has been able to engage personally with the Houghton community during his time here. “A local pastor asked me to a delightful lunch-and-conversation early on,” said Morris. He also added that “Several faculty and staff . . . have graciously invited me into their homes,” gestures he has appreciated doubly because he’s been “batch-ing it” while his wife ties up work at her art studio at Wheaton College.

Morris also played a key role in this year’s Christmas-tree-lighting chapel service at the college. After President Mullen oversaw the lighting of the tree, Morris came up to read “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” a book by Barbara Robinson about six unruly, irreligious children, the Herdmans, who secure the lead roles in a church Christmas pageant.

Morris began with a witty self-introduction, confessing to be “that guy at parties, that asks people to punctuate ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,’ and reminds people that we don’t really know that Christ was born on the twenty-fifth of December.” Nevertheless, he asked the audience to suspend their disbelief regarding potential inaccuracies in traditional Christmas pageants, for the purpose of engaging with the story.

And engage they did. The end-of-semester chapel remnant sat spellbound as Morris read for over half an hour. Bursts of laughter bubbled from the audience, as well as the orchestra onstage, as Morris deftly slipped into different voices to suit the characters, from nasally, tough-talking Imogen Herdman to pristinely snotty Alice Wendelken.

When asked what he’d like students to know about him, Morris shared a diverse taste in music, ranging from Beethoven to Mumford and Sons to Pentatonix to the Hamilton soundtrack. He also said that he owns “all the extensions and expansions for ‘Settlers of Catan’ and [has] a very large table in [his] apartment,” as well as “popcorn, cheese, chips, dip, apples, and often some special reserve deep-dish pizza in the freezer too… just sayin’…”

Broke, bored, and hungry college students, take note.

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Stories In Focus

Diverse Roles With a Common Purpose

Former Indiana Wesleyan graduates and college sweethearts, Joshua and Sarah Derck exemplify the success that the dichotomy of classroom and hands on experience provides for the modern college graduate.

In 2012, the Dercks became one of the rare Houghton families that includes both a staff and a faculty member. Josh Derck works on the maintenance front while Sarah Derck works in the classroom. The couple described how their individual vantage points present a holistic perspective of the school.

ABurdo DerckCMYKJosh and Sarah Derck met at school in Indiana where they both pursued bachelor’s degrees in Biblical Studies. While in school, Josh found Biblical Studies a comfortable realm for study because he was a “pastor’s kid.” He pursued this interest and received a master’s degree in New Testament from Nazarene Theological Seminary. In college, he worked as a student worker in maintenance where he discovered skills in maintenance and leadership. His skill set in this field allowed him to find jobs around the world as he and his family traveled to England. He worked in facility management while Sarah finished her Ph.D. program in Old Testament at the University of Manchester.

Josh now works for Sodexo and manages five employees as the Building Trades Leader and safety coordinator for his unit. Contrary to his former work in maintenance, his position in management results in more paperwork and overseeing projects such as painting, carpentry, set-ups, and teardowns of events. An important part of his job is finding “creative ways to do things, manage people, and make sure they’re enjoying their job,” he said.

Finance resources are a challenge for Josh and his team, but he said, “You just have to do your best with limited resources.” Along with his management role, Josh enjoys hands on projects the best. Recently, he and his team helped set up the Willie Cole Exhibit in the Ortlip Gallery. He said it was a great experience to work with a world-renowned artist and to help mount the pieces.

Sarah originally pursued a career in secondary education at Indiana Wesleyan with the influence of her mother as a teacher. Her original goal of becoming a secondary English teacher changed after taking classes in Bible as her interest in Theological Studies grew. She knew she wanted to be a teacher, but the college classroom was new for her.

Currently, Sarah works as a full-time Professor of Old Testament teaching Biblical Literature as well as all of the upper level Old Testament courses. She mentioned that her greatest satisfaction in her work is when she is, “able to have a conversation that helps a student see God in new ways.” Junior, Jessica Vaughn mentioned, “So many people trust her to listen well and speak honestly into their lives. She is very generous with her time.”

Sarah discussed how one challenge in building these relationships is her busy schedule, yet according to Vaughn, Sarah always seems to be meeting with students outside of class and investing in their lives. Despite limited time in her day, she commits her teaching to helping students understand that “their experience with God doesn’t encompass all of humanity.” Vaughn testified to this statement saying, “Dr. Derck helped me to see that the church is much bigger than one tradition, and that it is in the conversations we have across differences that we find the richness and depth of our faith.” Sarah desires to connect with her students with a teaching style that is “invitational rather than confrontational.” Sarah is also an ordained Wesleyan pastor, giving her a dynamic approach to her teaching.

Josh found his technical experience more practical in his career, and Sarah found that her education in Theology propelled her forward into a career as a professor. Both used their undergraduate experience to explore career possibilities. For Josh, he did not enter into a career involving what he studied. He joked that his fellow staff members direct theological questions to him because of his masters in New Testament.

Josh and Sarah Derck share the common goal of helping students. Josh said, in reference to helping students with direct problems such as room maintenance or projects, “That’s why I do my job. So they can have a good experience.” Although the Dercks work different positions on campus, their common goals of service strengthen Houghton’s goal expressed in the Community Covenant to live in a way that “honors Christ, follows biblical principles, builds loving relationships, and develops whole Christians who will be active in serving Christ.”

When the Dercks are not busily working around campus, they enjoy walking in the woods or reading with their two children. They enjoy catching up on British Television comedies and mysteries or antiquing around local towns. They also exercise their creativity in projects including knitting, nature photography, and carpentry. This multi-dimensional Houghton family balances work and living in a Christian community through their careers, relationships, and creative outlets.

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Two Faculty Searches COntinue for a Third Year

For the third year, the chemistry and communication departments will continue their search for new faculty to fill a biochemistry and a web communication and media arts position. There are currently eight open faculty positions departments are attempting to fill this semester, including the biochemistry and web communication and media arts positions.

Faculty SearchSpeaking about the biochemistry position, Professor Karen Torraca, department chair of chemistry, said, “It’s really difficult to find someone who has a strong Christian faith coupled with the biochem piece and that wants to teach.” Torraca said it is hard to draw in candidates when there are “much higher salaries in industry.” Similarly, Professor Douglas Gaerte, department chair of communication, said the web communication and media arts position is tough to fill because applicants generally have “all kinds of job opportunities outside of education that potentially could make a whole lot more money.” This semester, the communication department is restarting the search for this new position after college administration asked them to suspend it for a year.

This is the first year that Professor Kenneth Bates, department chair of business and economics, is trying to fill the two tenure track business positions – a finance position replacing Professor Richard Halberg, who opted for an early retirement package two years ago, and an accounting position to replace Professor Lois Ross, who will be retiring at the end of the year. Bates said, “Many of our candidates fade away real fast when they hear what the salary is.” However, Professor Kristen Camenga, department chair of mathematics and computer science, who is hiring for both applied math and math generalist positions, said lower salaries are “a secondary issue if you have people that have bought into the location and the mission fit” and who understand that the “finances of the area” include relatively low living costs.

In some cases, Houghton’s rural setting can be a disadvantage to faculty hires as a matter of the candidate’s personal preference. For the art department, however, location can be especially challenging. Professor Gary Baxter said, “A lot of artists realize that their best chance of being successful as an artist is to be in an urban setting” because of better access to museums, galleries, and a larger community that will support their work. In other areas, as Gaerte said, “Our location is not consistently a detriment.” Professor Aaron Sullivan, department chair of biology, who is hiring for the genetics position, said Allegany County’s limited job opportunities for the spouses of married candidates could be a concern as “many are unwilling or unable to commit to commuting long distances.”

For some departments, finding a candidate with the appropriate academic qualifications is one of the greatest challenges. As all eight open positions are for tenure track, search committees are seeking candidates with terminal degrees in their fields. Applicants for the web communication and media arts position who have been working professionally “haven’t necessarily been going to school in that time,” said Gaerte, making it challenging to find an applicant with sufficient experience in both industry and academia. Similarly, Bates said among the applicants out of the business world, very few fulfill the terminal degree requirement because “while in academia we see [PhDs] as an asset, in the business world usually those are considered liabilities.” There is some flexibility, however. Bates said the business department could hire someone without a terminal degree, but could put a contingency on hiring that the candidate would work to earn their doctorate by the time they are eligible for tenure.

Candidates are made aware of Houghton’s faith statement and community covenant early in the application process. This creates, as Camenga said, a “self-selection process” such that candidates that do not fit with the Houghton culture have a better chance of “figuring out they don’t fit before they ever come, before there’s the investment.” Sullivan said while this does “limit the pool of candidates,” in his experience, candidates are often “looking for the opportunity to integrate their faith with their discipline.” For Torraca, however, many of the qualified candidates for the biochemistry position, which will replace Professor Irmgard Howard, who retired in 2013, are “either not strong Christians or are more agnostic.” Torraca said finding candidates that are mature in their faith has been crucial component to the biochemistry job search as “ethical implications come up a lot more often than in some other chemistry areas.”

For art candidates, Baxter said, the conservative Christian environment of Houghton “cuts your pool of applicants significantly…in half or maybe even more than that.” Bates, however, said for the business department “within the spectrum of evangelical Christian faith, we’re widely open to different perspectives.”

In the mean time, many departments have hired interim or adjunct professors to keep programs functioning, but filling the tenure track positions would be ideal. Camenga said, “It’s really about providing some stability for the department” whereas short term hires means “you spend your time every year searching.” The Math Generalist position will replace Camenga who is leaving at the end of the academic year, and the applied math position will replace Professor Jun-Koo Park who left at the end of the spring semester. His position has been filled for the year by Brandon Bate, interim assistant professor.

The music department is seeking to fill a music theory and composition position, and the art department hired Alicia Taylor, interim assistant professor, to replace Professor Jillian Sokso during the search for a tenure track professor. For the finance position, Bates said the department has “hired from the outside” on a course-by-course basis but that in the past two years the department has “stopped teaching a few elective courses.” Senior business administration major, Bradley Oliver said while the adjunct professor for finance is “fulfilling the minimum requirements,” there are problems with accessibility as “he is only on campus once a week.”

The chemistry department has been holding out for the ideal candidate who, Torraca said, would be someone “who can really help develop the biochemistry program.” Gaerte said, the web communication and media arts candidate “has to be someone that sees this as their mission…that’s why most of us are here anyway.”

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News

Kerr-Pegula Athletics Complex Right on Track

The Kerr-Pegula Athletics Complex project plans were officially drafted in 2011 after receiving a letter of intent for a twelve million dollar donation from millionaire Terry Pegula and his wife Kim (Kerr ‘91) Pegula. By mid-spring 2013, the initial plans were approved by the Board and a timeline set in place. While the timeline has since evolved to reflect weather and fundraising realities, the project has continued forward with due speed. A walk past Shenawana Hall reveals the amount of work that has been completed already, and foreshadows the magnitude of these developments. David Smith, vice president of finance, is assisting in the flow of information to students and community members on behalf of the administration.

Of most pressing importance is the matter of fundraising and supporting this large venture. “The fundraising for this project has reached over $15M including the $12M lead gift by Terry and Kim (Kerr ‘91) Pegula with an additional $3M given by hundreds of donors over the past 18 months,” said Smith, “Individuals, foundations and corporations with affinity, capacity, and demonstrated generosity have been identified and are actively being solicited for this project.”

Ground_BreakingWhile the long-term project costs total more than $25M, the Advancement and Finance Departments seem enthusiastic and optimistic about reaching their goals. In a summary statement concerning fundraising, Smith said that he expects “to reach the fundraising goal by December 2015, which includes additional major capital gifts and endowment gifts designated for upkeep of the facilities, and a range of gifts from hundreds of dedicated alumni and friends.”

Another lurking concern about the complex is if the recent drop in enrollment could affect the finishing or expanse of the project’s plans.  When asked this question directly, Smith seemed optimistic. “The size of the facilities reflects many factors other than just enrollment, and all the factors, when included in the overall strategy, indicate our planning is still appropriate to our needs. For example, the size of this venue will be ideal for large multi-team track meets, concerts much larger than can be hosted currently, and other events that will promote Houghton College in our area/region.”

When asked a similar question, student government vice president and representative to the student athlete advisory committee, Andiana Sidell ‘14, also exuded positivity, “I definitely think that this project will have an impact on enrollment in the fall. Coaches and admissions have been using it as a recruiting tool. The presence of updated or new facilities is good for any type of program especially one that will impact the whole campus.”

Senator for athletics, Michael Bova ’15, also weighed in on the complex’s impact, saying, “I believe it will impact enrollment, especially if we have a multitude of future athletes coming to visit during the later portions of April or during May when the complex is nearing its final state. The complex adds grandeur to the Houghton campus, which is not something individuals expect when they look at the location of Houghton College–it adds to the “wow” factor, in essence.”

Smith holds hopes that the project will be completed very soon.  “The overall project, including the fields and field house, is on schedule to be completed by mid-summer 2014 and the fundraising plan is on schedule to be completed by December 2015.”