NACUBO Fellows Program Alumni Reach Chief Business Officer Positions
4/29/2021
Updated 6/7/2022
The NACUBO Fellows Program is an intensive one-year professional development opportunity for high-potential business and finance officers who hope to be chief business officers (CBOs) in their next role. Since the program launched in 2016, more than 50 percent of Fellows alumni have advanced in their careers, including at least 15 alumni who have achieved their goal of becoming a CBO. Some have even held multiple CBO positions already!
NACUBO is pleased to congratulate the following Fellows graduates who are now CBOs:
- Dawn Alston, 2016-17 Fellow – Spelman College chief financial officer and vice president for business and financial affairs
Past assistant vice president for business and financial affairs - Eric Barger, 2020-21 Fellow – University of Portland vice president for financial affairs
Past interim vice president for financial affairs - Jean Cibuzar, 2017-18 Fellow – American Association of State Colleges and Universities vice president of administration and finance
Past Gallaudet University executive director, finance - Lenora Chapman, 2019-20 Fellow – Southwestern University vice president for finance and administration
Past Sam Houston State University associate vice president for finance and operations - John C. Coppola, 2019-20 Fellow – Loyola University Maryland vice president for finance and administration/treasurer
Past associate vice president for finance
Lucien Costley, 2021-22 Fellow – Schreiner University vice president, planning and finance/chief financial officer
Past interim vice president for administration and finance - Terence Finley, 2017-18 Fellow – Harris-Stowe State University vice president and chief financial officer
Past Prairie View A&M University assistant vice president for business services - David Franklin, 2018-19 Fellow – University of the District of Columbia chief operating officer
- Past deputy chief operating officer and managing director of finance
- Ginny Gomez-Leon, 2018-19 Fellow – University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio vice president and chief financial officer
Past associate vice president for budget and planning
- Stephen Hietsch, 2017-18 Fellow – St. Lawrence University vice president for finance and administration
Past Dickinson College associate vice president, auxiliary services and budget management
- Rich Kelley, 2019-20 Fellow – Regis College vice president for finance and business, chief financial officer
Past University of New England associate vice president for finance - Michael Mueller, 2020-21 Fellow, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley senior vice president for finance and planning
Past senior associate vice president for finance planning and resource development - Richard Sears, 2016-17 Fellow – Columbus State University vice president, business and finance
Past interim vice president, business and finance and University of West Georgia, assistant vice president for finance - Beverly Shuford, 2016-17 Fellow – University College of the Cayman Islands vice president, business and finance
Past University of Alaska Anchorage vice chancellor for administrative services
- Sara Thorndike, 2017-18 Fellow – Pennsylvania State University senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer
Past East Carolina University vice chancellor, administration and finance
Each year, the NACUBO Fellows Program connects aspiring CBOs to higher education senior leaders and helps them build upon their leadership skills and the core competencies needed for high performance. The application period for the 2022-23 period is now closed, but applications for the following year will be accepted in the fall. More information on the program is available here.
