Dear Faculty and Staff,
I write to you today with an update about the leadership of the Division of Administration and Finance. As you know, we are currently searching for our next vice president to lead the division. That search continues, and I am grateful to the search committee, led by Jake Weissmann ’06, vice president for government relations and community affairs, for its important work.
I am grateful, as well, for the temporary co-leadership of the division over the last several months by Lenn Caron, senior associate vice president for administrative services, and Kristy Michel, associate vice president for administration and finance. As many of you know, Lenn resigned from his role earlier this year, and Kristy was recently named as the next vice president for finance and administration at Loyola University Maryland. This is an exciting and well-deserved appointment for Kristy, and I wish both her and Lenn all the best in their future endeavors.
Kristy’s last day at UMBC was Friday, March 28; she was very helpful in seeing to a smooth transition of leadership, particularly at such a busy time for the finance team and its work with partners across campus.
I am pleased to announce that we will be bringing on Daniel Petree as the interim vice president for administration and finance, who will serve in the role starting April 15 until a permanent vice president is named. Daniel was selected from a highly qualified pool of interim candidates from The Registry, a firm specializing in placing interim higher education leaders.
Daniel has had a successful career over 25 years in higher education, serving as a faculty member, dean, vice president of finance and planning, and chief financial officer at both public and private institutions. He was the founding dean of the School of Business Administration and Economics at Brockport State University in New York, and he has held interim roles at Illinois State University, Bellarmine University, Indiana University South Bend, and others. Beyond higher education, Daniel was the first CEO of the Labor Management Council of Greater Kansas City.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business accounting and a Master of Business Administration from Rockhurst University, and a doctorate in labor and human resources from the University of Kansas.
In addition to his expertise across diverse administrative and financial functions and his experience through The Registry serving in interim roles, Daniel’s record of partnering with and advising presidents and senior teams, leading through change, and achieving significant financial and administrative improvements as well as a strategic focus make him exceptionally well-suited to meet UMBC’s needs in this transitional period.
I am delighted that Daniel has agreed to join us, and I look forward to partnering with him. Welcome, Daniel!
Sincerely,
President Valerie Sheares Ashby