July 16, 1996 - Interviews Scheduled for Senior Positions in MnSCU System Office

Interviews for senior positions in the system office for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) are being conducted this week and next.

Four additional candidates for the position of vice chancellor for budget will be interviewed. The vice chancellor for budget will oversee budget and fiscal policy matters for MnSCU, a system of community colleges, state universities and technical colleges serving more than 151,000 students at 53 campuses around the state. Three other candidates for the position were interviewed last month.

The vice chancellor's duties include preparing the system's operating and capital improvement budget requests, allocating funds to the colleges and universities, developing tuition and fee proposals, supervising systemwide facility planning and overseeing system office accounting, payroll and audit functions. The position reports to the executive vice chancellor/chief operating officer.

Here are the candidates and dates of their interviews:

Cora Prifold Beebe

(July 19), chief fiscal officer and executive director (administration) for the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, a position she has held since 1994. She previously has held a number of positions in federal government agencies, including branch chief in the Office of Management and Budget (1987-1994); director of planning, budget and evaluation in the Department of Commerce (1986-1987); executive assistant to the associate director of management with the Office of Management and Budget (1985-1986); director of policy, budget and program management of the Environmental Protection Agency (1984-1985); and assistant secretary for administration in the U.S. Treasury Department (1981-1984). From 1973 to 1981 she served with the U.S. Department of Education, progressing from planning and evaluation specialist to planning and budget director and principal deputy assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. Beebe has an M.A. in political science from the University of Michigan.

James T. Hale

(July 22), senior vice president for administration and finance at the University of Houston main campus since 1995. Previously, he was vice president for administration and finance at the University of Houston-Clear Lake from 1973 to 1995. From 1971 to 1973 he was business manager for the University of Texas at San Antonio. Hale has an M.B.A. degree from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.

Gregory J. Rosine

(July 23), associate director of the Human Services Unit within the Michigan House of Representatives Fiscal Agency since 1995. Between 1987 and 1995 he was associate director of the Education/Regulatory Unit with the House Fiscal Agency. He also served as fiscal analyst, reviewing budgets of various state departments including Natural Resources, Agriculture and community colleges, for the House Fiscal Agency from 1979 to 1987. Rosine has a bachelor of science degree in political science from Central Michigan University.

Timothy C. Travelstead

(July 18), chief of staff to the chief financial officer in the U.S. Department of Energy, a position he has held since 1994. Previously, he was with Chase Manhattan Real Estate Finance from 1988 to 1994 in areas including lending, financial management systems and loan administration. From 1990 to 1993 he was a financial consultant to TS-Barcelona Partners. He was deputy finance director for the Easter Region of the Babbitt for President campaign from 1987 to 1988. Travelstead has a bachelor's degree in economics from Williams College.

An additional interview also has been scheduled for the position of executive vice chancellor/chief operating officer of MnSCU.

Lee R. Kerschner,

special assistant to the chancellor of the California State University system since 1994, has been invited to interview for the position on July 18.

The executive vice chancellor/COO will be responsible to the chancellor for the day-to-day operation of key areas in the MnSCU system office, including academic and student affairs, budget, personnel and labor relations and the office of diversity. Three candidates for the position were interviewed in June.

Kerschner has held many senior positions in higher education, including interim president of California State University, Stanislaus (1992 to 1994); commissioner of the California Student Aid Commission (1993 to present); senior vice chancellor for academic affairs in the California State University Chancellor's Office (1987 to 1992); executive director of the California Commission for the Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education (1985 to 1987); executive director of the National Association of Trade and Technical Schools and executive secretary of its Accrediting Commission (1983 to 1985); executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (1977 to 1983); and positions with the California State University from 1961 to 1977, including faculty member, statewide dean of faculty and increasingly responsible positions culminating in appointment as vice chancellor for administrative affairs. Kerschner has a Ph.D. in political science from Georgetown University.

An additional interview for the position of vice chancellor for policy and planning was conducted on July 15. The vice chancellor will be responsible to the chancellor in the areas of policy development, policy-related research, strategic planning and management and information systems. Three candidates for the post were interviewed in June. Interviewed on July 15 was:

Edgar B. Schick,

senior fellow and consultant to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) since 1991. He was vice chancellor for policy and planning with the University of Maryland system from 1988 to 1991 and executive director of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities and Colleges of Maryland from 1987 to 1988. Other higher education administrative positions he has held include provost and vice president for academic affairs at Eastern Illinois University (1984-1987); president of Nasson College, a private college in Springvale, Maine (1980-1983); executive vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at St. John Fisher College (1972-1980); and assistant to the president at the State University of New York at Albany (1969-1972). Schick has a Ph.D. from Rutgers University.

The new positions were created as part of a MnSCU system office reorganization and downsizing that will reduce the number of employees by approximately 100 positions, or 50 percent, and structure the office around four key areas: policy development, government liaison and public advocacy, strategic planning and budget.

The interviews are being conducted by members of the MnSCU Board of Trustees, the chancellor the MnSCU Joint Council of Presidents and other representatives of the colleges and universities and the system office.

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