Four candidates are finalists for the position of vice chancellor for business and finance. Selected by a search committee, the candidates will visit the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from Nov. 6-9.
The candidates will participate in one-day interviews. No public forums or receptions are scheduled.
The finalists, listed by interview date, are:
Nov. 6 — Joe Trubacz, regional vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg;
Nov. 7 — Leisa Julian, vice chancellor and chief financial officer at the University of Kansas;
Nov. 8 — Scott Sahagian, executive administrative dean for arts and sciences at Tufts University; and
Nov. 9 — Bruce Bollinger, vice president for finance and administration at North Dakota State University.
The vice chancellor for business and finance serves as the university’s senior business officer and reports directly to the chancellor. The vice chancellor is responsible for oversight and administration of all budget, financial and administrative services supporting the university’s $1.2 billion operating budget in compliance with University of Nebraska Board of Regents policy and state and federal laws. This individual is also responsible for all activities related to the university’s physical facilities and grounds (including capital construction and maintenance), University of Nebraska–Lincoln sites throughout the state, university police, parking and transit services, and human resources. The business and finance unit has approximately 800 employees and an annual operating budget of $64 million.
The vice chancellor also works closely with vice chancellors for business at the other three institutions in the university system, and the vice president for business and finance in the system’s central administration office.
Candidate information is also available on the vice chancellor for business and finance search website, which includes bios for each candidate.
- Trubacz will interview on Nov. 6. He has more than 27 years of financial and administrative experience. Prior to his present position at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Trubacz served as senior vice president of finance and administration at Colorado School of Mines. Previously, he spent more than two decades at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and in the University of Alaska system. Trubacz received a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire, and a Master of Business Administration from New Hampshire College, now known as Southern New Hampshire University.
- Julian will interview on Nov. 7. At the University of Kansas, she is responsible for the financial stewardship of the university, including capital and operating budgets, financial affairs and reporting, and debt management. Prior to joining Kansas in February 2016, Julian served as associate vice president for business and auxiliary services, overseeing financial and administrative operations of campus units at Ball State University (2005 to 2016). She also served as general counsel and chief financial officer for the Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund in Indianapolis, and as city controller for Anderson, Indiana. She earned an undergraduate degree and Master of Business Administration from Ball State University, and a juris doctorate from Indiana University. She was admitted to the Indiana State Bar Association in 1989.
- Sahagian will interview on Nov. 8. Prior to joining the arts and sciences leadership at Tufts, Sahagian has been involved in developing administrative infrastructure for the university’s engineering college. He directly supervised the college’s areas of finance, space, information technology and personnel. He previously served as chief administrative officer of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He also was the associate director of the Schneider Institute for Health Policy, the largest research unit at Brandeis. From 1991 to 1995, he was the administrative officer at the Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He has also worked in numerous positions with the YMCA, including a tenure as executive director in several communities prior to working in academia. He has published several articles in the area of customer service and management. Sahagian holds a Bachelor of Science from Salem State College and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Suffolk University.
- Bollinger will interview on Nov. 9. He was appointed vice president of finance and administration at North Dakota State in July 2010 after serving in an interim capacity. In his current position, Bollinger provides leadership, oversight, and management of all aspects of the financial and administrative operations and resources of NDSU, reports directly to the university president, and serves on the president’s cabinet. In his 25 years at NDSU, he has served in several progressively responsible financial management roles, most recently as director of the agriculture budget office and agriculture facilities. His tenure also includes positions as the director of the offices of restricted fund accounting and cost accounting; assistant to the controller; and grants and contracts officer in the restricted fund accounting office. Bollinger earned a bachelor’s degree with majors in accounting and business administration and a master’s degree in business administration from NDSU.
