Deanna McCormick

Deanna McCormick has served as a chief financial officer/chief operating officer for more than three decades, specializing in small private liberal arts institutions.  She has been responsible for finance and investment strategies, building long-range financial forecasting models, IT, HR, facilities planning and development and auxiliary operations.

Her most recent position was vice president for business and finance/CFO at Simpson College.  She has served as vice president for finance and administration at Wabash College, the College of Wooster, Clarke University, and Albion College where she was also the chief operating officer.  Highlights of her career include:

• Working with boards to raise unrestricted funds to leverage and increase assets of the endowment during capital campaigns while issuing tax-exempt debt for capital construction projects

• Designing and completing in excess of $150 million in construction for new and renovated campus facilities to include addressing deferred maintenance issues

• Developing multi-year financial forecasting and budgeting models to enhance strategic resource allocation to determine the impact of decisions made in the present on long-term financial stability

• Championing the move from an outsourced bookstore to a self-operated spirit shop to create a new source of revenue for operations
• Creating a team of business office and information technology personnel to develop and implement a procurement process designed to create centralized procurement to better track available budgets and improve spending habits across campus
• Managing endowments in excess of $350 million as well as hiring investment advisors to diversify smaller endowment portfolios to increase return while managing risk

• Forming budget advisory committees to enhance communication surrounding college finances campuswide while fostering inclusive participation in budget and other financial processes
• Forming benefits task forces to assist with assessing and improving college benefits to maintain retention of current employees as well as promote the recruitment of highly qualified faculty and staff

• Managing endowments in excess of $350 million as well as hiring investment advisors to diversify smaller endowment portfolios to increase return while managing risk

McCormick has also been a peer reviewer with the Higher Learning Commission for the past fifteen years, conducting comprehensive accreditation and focus visits, and she has also served as a specialized reviewer to assess for-profit university mergers and acquisitions.  She recently served as an adjunct faculty member at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

McCormick holds a BS with honors in administration and an MBA in finance, both from Indiana University, as well as post graduate work in higher education administration.