Karen Kissel (PHOTO SUPPLIED)
University Park, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Governors State University has appointed Karen Kissel, of Flossmoor, to the newly-created position of Vice President for Administration and Finance.
“As Vice President for Administration and Finance, Karen will be a key member of our administrative team during this historic period at GSU,” said President Elaine P. Maimon. “Her excellent work at GSU during the last several years speaks for itself. We are always pleased when we can grow our own senior leadership.”
Dr. Maimon said the university’s Board of Trustees created the position to meet the challenges of several ongoing initiatives at GSU. These include: successfully completing the conversion to Datatel Colleague, the university’s new computer system; the renovation of the university’s science wing, including construction of new research labs; the full implementation of the Dual Degree Program, an innovative degree completion partnership between GSU and eight community colleges; the introduction of freshman and sophomore programming; and the development and launching of new academic programs under the university’s Academic Master Plan.
As Vice President for Administration and Finance, Kissel will assume day-to-day operational responsibility for administrative and financial services. She will have broad responsibility for fiscal planning and analysis, financial records and reporting, cash and institutional debt management and investment strategy, risk management, the management of the external audit process, and various key administrative and business functions.
Administrative and functional units reporting directly to Kissel include the Budget Office, Financial Services and Comptroller, Facilities Development and Management, Procurement and Business Services (including auxiliary services and environmental health and safety), and the Department of Public Safety. Kissel will report to GSU’s Executive Vice President and will be a member of the President’s Cabinet.
For more than five years, Kissel has served as GSU’s Chief Financial Services Officer and Comptroller, providing both executive leadership and hands-on operational direction to the university’s Financial and Business Services Division. She has been a key player on GSU’s Deferred Maintenance Initiative Team and the Datatel Implementation Team. Under her leadership, nearly all aspects of Datatel’s financial model were successfully implemented in less than 15 months.
Kissel possesses a bachelor’s degree in business from St. Mary’s of Notre Dame and a master’s in business from Notre Dame University. She has nearly 20 years of executive and operational level experience in the accounting, financial, and business services fields, both at GSU and in the private business sector.
