A NNU AL MEE T ING 2000 - NACUBO

NNU A L MEE T ING 2000
Miles to Go,
Promises to Keep
Higher Education
in the 21st
Century
By Hank Chase
28 • SEPTEMBER 2000

This July, Chicago proved to be more than just Sinatra's kind of town.
And the W h i te Sox, who had baseball's best record to date, weren't
the only winners in the Windy City. More than 1,400 NA C UB O
members and more than 200 vendors felt their own kind of
satisfaction, as the 2000 annual meeting went off with a resounding
success, pointing campus administrators in the right direction for the
first academic year of our new century. Each member may not have
returned to his or her campus
“Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action,
Cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
B a r e h e a d e d ,
S h o v e l i n g ,
Wr e c k i n g ,
P l a n n i n g ,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,”
as Carl Sandburg wrote of his adopted hometown, in the title piece
of his 1916 Chicago Poems. But, at the very least (for who are we to
suggest that NA C UBO members lack cunning or fierceness), they will
be planning, building, breaking, and rebuilding; in short, embarked
on their own odysseys, transforming higher education to meet the
demands of the 21st century.
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NNU A L MEE T ING 2000
Any account of an annual meeting whose keynote
luncheon address was delivered with panache, a passion
for education, and an abundance of self-deprecating
wit by Gen. Colin Powell would struggle hard
not to make the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the
centerpiece of the lead paragraph. And probably not succeed.
Perhaps the best that can be done toward that self-imposed task
is to note that Powell’s presence at the NACUBO 2000 Annual
Meeting underscored the broader success of the meeting—and
of NACUBO. Comment after comment in Chicago testified to
the truth that the gathering had reached an unprecedented level
of professionalism and value, and brought together the largest
crowd in NACUBO’s history.
the real value of NACUBO’s annual get-together: “Back home, I
do NACUBO things behind the scenes for Gina. Now, I get to
see where all that effort goes. The meeting is also a chance to
put names to faces, to meet NACUBO members and board
workers. Wow! I have some really good ideas to take back from
here for our operations.”
With the likes of Gen. Powell, EDUCAUSE’s president Brian
Hawkins, Arizona State University’s president Lattie Coor,
PepsiCo Inc.’s president and chief operating officer Roger
Enrico, and Bank One Corporation’s chief economist Diane
Swonk, to say nothing of more than 60 caucus, concurrent, or
lab sessions, and so many vendor booths that a map was needed
to find one’s way about, it’s unlikely that any sentient participant
left town without his or her own good ideas for campus
operations. The good ideas, the excellent economy, the general
expansion of higher education, the 250 new members at the
annual meeting, the breadth and depth of the sessions, the
opportunity to meet old friends and to make new ones, and the
c e remonial passing of the gavel from Gina Kranitz to
NACUBO’s new chairman, Bert Hartley, all contributed to a palpable
air of enthusiasm in Chicago.
Walking in Sunshine
Candidates for best idea will vary with the needs of the listener,
but here comes a powerful short list, beginning with the general
session speakers.
ina Kranitz, presiding over the largest and most successful annual meeting
NACUBO’s history.
Who best to gauge the meeting’s operational success?
Probably the omnipresent Maureen McCarthy, who took the
lead in pulling the annual meeting together for a second
straight year after four years of assisting in the endeavor. But
since she might be accused of bias, let’s instead listen to the
voices of the volunteers. Laboring in the bowels of the Hyatt
Regency at the registration table, DePaul University’s Fran
Casey confided that she “never expected the vast extent of the
exhibits”; and before she could supply the superlative to measure
her surprise, her DePaul colleague Pat Butterfield, jumped
in with “nor the number of people!” Queried separately, Alexis
Thielke, in town from Arizona, where her day job is administrative
assistant for Gina Kranitz (1999-2000 chair of the
NACUBO Board) at Paradise Valley Community College, sang
the same tune. “I’m completely amazed by the scale of operations,”
she said. “It’s a mini corporation right here in the hotel.”
Beyond the numbers, Thielke continued in a vein that painted
HAWKINS
Leave it to EDUCAUSE’s Brian Hawkins to turn conventional
wisdom on its head. Emphasizing that the technological revolution
as it affects campuses is a social movement before it is a
technological phenomenon, Hawkins offered NACUBO members
an overview of technology’s impact on higher education as
Brian Hawkins
30 • SEPTEMBER 2000

A NNU A L MEE T ING 2000
well as guidance on the role of a chief information officer
(CIO). The useful metaphor for campuses, he said, is a spider
web, in which all the pieces are organically linked, and the
entirety of the organism responds, each constituent element in
its own way, whenever the web is stimulated. “There are interdependencies
throughout the institution,” he said, and this
truth should guide an institution’s thinking about the CIO’s
role, as well as the thinking of the CIO himself or herself.
What are the operational consequences of spider web thinking?
First of all, it relegates technological knowledge to the
bottom of a CIO’s skill set. The three most important attributes
for a CIO are communication skills, the ability to form
alliances, and the ability to work collaboratively. In short, the
managerial skills of a generalist. “It’s the challenge of the
orchestra,” Hawkins explained. “You do not have to have mastery
of every instrument; the issue is, can you get the orchestra
members to work together.”
his Minnesota home to the “warm and gentle breezes of
Massachusetts,” Enrico surmised that a “lust for freedom and a
change of scene still inspire freshmen today,” before adding
“that may be the only thing unchanged in education from my
day.” Noting that while most people cheerfully subscribe to the
nostrum that change is good, their perspectives alter when confronted
with real change. “Change,” Enrico said, “is hard and it
really hurts—but it’s necessary, healthy, liberating, uncertain,
and exciting.”
COOR
Lattie Coor has more than two decades of experience as a university
president, first at the University of Vermont and now at
Arizona State University, all of which left him, too, deeply
invested in partnering with others. But the focus of his talk was
on the need for colleges and universities to actively engage in a
partnership with their surrounding communities, and thus
with the larger society that they ought to serve. “Attach the
capacity of universities to problem-solving and engage the
community to define the issues that matter [to them],” he
insisted. Coor offered seven characteristics that defined an
engaged institution, a list that grew out of the recent Kellogg
Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant
Universities, on which Coor served: responsiveness, respect for
partners, academic neutrality, accessibility, integration, coordination,
and resource partnerships.
Roger Enrico
ENRICO
PepsiCo. Inc.’s Enrico, too, had his mind on not trying to master
the universe, particularly in an environment of rapid and profound
change. Rather than trying to do it all, he recommended
doing what you do best, and leveraging the strengths of others
by partnering with them. By way of example, he offered the
PepsiCo-Anheiser Busch deal. “We didn’t put Pepsi and beer in
same bottle,” he said, to everyone’s relief. “What we did was use
Anheiser-Busch’s cans, which are really good cans. That deal
saved both companies hundreds of millions over the years,
reducing the per unit costs of cans that we both used.”
Enrico’s discussion about voracious change and the need to
focus on core strengths hit home with a higher education audience,
in large measure because this is the universe we all share,
as Enrico well knew, since he is a member of the National
Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and of Babson
College Corporation. Recalling his own migration from
Lattie Coor
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NNU A L MEE T ING 2000
Calling for the same spirit that led to the foundation and
guided the educational philosophy of land-grant colleges established
by the Morrill Acts, Coor told his audience that “our reason
for being—particularly for state institutions—is to engage
with our communities and address society’s problems.”
In keeping with the spirit of optimism that seemed pervasive
at the meeting, Coor spoke passionately about the rediscovery
of the undergraduate, calling it “the most exciting development
of the last 40 years of academic life.” Enthusiastic about the
transformation in higher education from teaching and research
to learning and discovery, Coor stressed the value of learnercentered
education, which essentially ends the firewall that has
separated undergraduate and graduate educational approaches.
You would think that a score or more years of serving as a university
president would burn one out, but Coor seemed delighted
and invigorated by the challenges and changes facing higher
education.
SWONK
Almost certainly pleasing individual
participants with an eye on their
mutual fund investments and retirement
portfolios, Diane Swonk told
members that the recent actions by
the Federal Reserve System are likely
to be successful in inducing a soft
landing to a super-heated economy.
Swonk also pleased the collective
crowd, whose work lives are made
easier as endowments and enrollment
soar, and who in the earlier
Double Digit Return session were
supplied with tips from three universities
that last year had returns in
excess of 20 percent. The senior vice
Diane Swonk
p resident for Bank One’s corporate
economics group took her audience through the twists and turn s
of the new economy, but the bottom line rather than the details
is probably what lingered in the minds of most of her listeners.
members stopped in to peruse or purchase CUBA VI and other
NACUBO publications, eyeball shirts and other paraphernalia,
and to log-on to freely available (or perhaps, given the crowds,
that should read: free, when available) computers to check out
their personal E-mailboxes, courtesy of AT&T and Darwin
Networks, Inc. The visitors may have been countless, but the
cash wasn’t: NACUBO sold nearly $25,000 worth of merchandise.
A still more memorable measure of the Bookstore /
CyberCafé success: Several visitors complained about the limited
selection of types of coffee! You know that you’ve arrived
when an unprecedented offer generates so much clamor that
the public feels entitled to bigger and better.
Stairway to Exhibitor Heaven
Except for the fact that all the gadgets and products were more
in keeping with The Jetsons, and that the aisles were clean, carpeted,
and well-lighted, the exhibit hall brought to mind a
c rowded, cacaphonous, narrow-alleyway-ed Renaissance
bazaar. Step right this way! Turn your eyes hither—No! Not
toward him, toward me! It’s a bargain! The drifting mind was
ready to supply a thousand clichéd phrases from epic
Hollywood productions. Only the actual words spoken—“fully
integratable,” “E-enabled,” “portal,” “tax-deferred retirement
investment portfolios”—and the sight of yet another cutting
edge product for higher education on view from the more than
200 exhibitors displaced the notion that Robert Morley or Peter
Ustinov should be leaning over a booth trying to lure one to
his wares.
Okay, so technically it was an escalator that connected the
record-breaking 200-plus exhibiting companies at NACUBO
2000, but Led Zepplin’s lyrics are no less applicable when one
considers that about 1500 business officers attended the
Chicago annual meeting. That was heaven for corporate partners,
who have but one opportunity each year to greet the
legions of higher ed’s top decision-makers. Uninterrupted quality
time with campus partners: That’s where Campus/Corporate
Partnerships begin … and strengthen over the years. Was there
any downside for exhibitors? Apparently so, since success
Bookstore
The Bookstore/CyberCafé arguably provided the most visually
compelling example of the success of this year’s annual meeting,
which was in sharp contrast to the bookstores at past annual
meetings. Aided by the real estate mantra of location,
location, location, by the attractive display and professional
staffers provided by Follett Higher Education Group, and by the
wafting smell of fresh-brewed latte and cappuccino, countless
32 • SEPTEMBER 2000
At the Bookstore/CyberCafé

A NNU A L MEE T ING 2000
brings more visitors and breeds more work, according to Fred
Rogers, vice president, University Strategy & Partnerships,
Student Advantage Inc. (and Jay Morley’s successor as senior
vice president and chief operating officer at Cornell University).
“I met more colleagues and friends as an exhibitor than I have
in other years as a participant,” Rogers said, “because I stayed
in one place and they came by on their own time. The downside
was that my feet hurt more than when I was a participant!”
NACUBO’s Enhanced Web Site
Marching in step with technology’s impact on higher education,
NACUBO is updating its Web site, in alliance with Harris
Internet Services. Toward that end, the enhanced version of the
site (including integrated targeted E-mail, a news port a l ,
threaded discussion and chat functions, a searchable database,
and a new navigation process) was unveiled for beta-testing at
the annual meeting. Representatives from institutions and associations
running the gamut from the Alabama Examiners of
Public Accountants to Webster University, poked, prodded, and
played with NACUBO’s latest Web iteration before pro n o u n c i n g
it a resounding success, both as re g a rds functionality and content.
Oh, did we mention that they also had some thoughts on
how to make the site still better? Perhaps they had read and taken
to heart Jay Morley’s observation in August Business Off i c e r : “ I f
you say that you don’t believe in continuous process impro v e-
ment then you shouldn’t be running a business or institution.”
Award Winners
Each year, one of the highlights of NACUBO’s annual meeting
is the bestowing of the Distinguished Business Officer Award,
the Professional Development and Scholarship Award, the
Robinson Award, the Adams Award, and the Rising Star Award.
This year’s gathering in Chicago proved no exception, applause
rang out regularly as the awards were given to colleagues from
across the country. For a list of winners, see NACUBO News, at
the back of this issue of Business Officer.
Gimme Shelter
The IT Storm
Although a general air of optimism reigned at the meeting (and
more widely, within the profession in these days of rising
endowments and enrollment and excitement), members did not
lack for issues of campus concern. Prime among the concerns
was managing information technology (IT) matters, particularly
as regards costs, staff retention, and platform and software
configuration, implementation, and coordination. In one caucus
or concurrent session after another, IT became a focus of
the conversation. One measure of IT’s wattage level was pro v i ded
Greg Baroni, of KPMG (lead sponsor of CUBA VI),
and Gina Kranitz unveil NACUBO's "bible."
by the Caucus for Minorities in Higher Education, once again
led by Spelman College’s Danny Flanigan Jr. A call for “burning
issues” briefly brought forth the topic of affirmative action.
Within a minute that subject had morphed into maintaining a
diverse IT staff, and not long after that the discussion bro a d e n e d
into the whole array of IT concerns. For the next half an hour or
m o re, re p resentatives from Dillard, Carleton, Howard, Tu s k e g e e ,
We s t e rn Michigan, the University of Chicago, the Te c h n i c a l
College of the Low Country, Hunter, LSU Medical Center, the
University of North Alabama, Xavier, and other institutions were
absorbed in sharing their IT headaches.
Is it a migraine or just a stress headache? Whichever, it ain’t
going away, to judge by Flanigan’s account: “I’ve had to tell my
president, ‘Don’t be surprised if we start paying people more
than you’ to keep a diverse pool of talented people.”
That caucus had no monopoly on sufferers: Less than two
hours later, at the Caucus for State System Administrators, IT
again topped the list of concerns that was drawn up with audience
participation. Whether it was staff retention or the cost of
wiring, everyone had a horror story to share. Speaking of market
rates that accelerate on a trajectory of a high-performance,
air-superiority jet fighter, and of the stock options being offered
to IT workers, who promptly decamp for the plusher pastures
of the private sector, moderator Kathleen McNeely of Indiana
University plaintively asked, “has anyone figured this out, or
are we all lost?” When no hands were raised to claim success in
retaining IT staff, McNeely cheerfully responded by saying,
“Well, at least you know your problems aren’t yours alone!”
According to McNeely, the Bloomington campus of Indiana
University has a 45-page list of job vacancies, and 65 of those
vacancies are in IT. Not to be outdone, her colleague from
Indiana University at Kokomo, Ray Bonhomme, chimed in on
the issue of IT wiring costs, noting that “You’ll go through
$500,000 before you know it.”
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A N NU A L MEE T ING 2000
livening a general session, Molly Ivins signs copies of Shrub.
Partly Cloudy: Performance-Based Funding
Higher education is invariably caught up with flavor-of-theday
approaches mandated by elected officials—except the flavor
lingers longer than a day.
Lately, performance-based funding is all the rage—more
than half of the audience in the Caucus of State System
Administrators raised a hand when asked if it were flavor of
the day in their states. So it’s hardly surprising that NACUBO
scheduled a session on the subject, or that a large crowd gathered
to hear presenters from New Jersey, Florida, Tennessee,
and South Carolina review their experiences as regards community
colleges. (Okay, the attractive brunch spread, and the
s u re knowledge that Gina Kranitz would grace the pro c e e d i n g s ,
may have been additional inducements to attend the session.)
New Jersey’s Terry Sampson kept it real, acknowledging that
“dialogue is a tame word to describe the conversation around
performance-based funding in New Jersey. T h e re was a lot of
heated argument, even within the community college sector.”
She added that while the state legislature “claimed that this
[ p e rf o rmance-funding] money was additional, it pulled
1 percent of our budget back and then made us earn it.” More
critically, she and her presenter colleagues questioned how
well one could measure the funding benchmarks (which typically
include graduation rates, economic outcomes, and quality
of perf o rmance criteria) and how directly relevant they were to
l e a rning. Citing herself as in the context of the graduation rate
criterion, she said, “It took me 20 years to get a bachelor’s. Can
you imagine what that would do to our statistics?”
Sampson, Florida’s Barry Keim, South Caro l i n a ’s John
Smalls, and Te n n e s s e e ’s Charles Hurley were broadly in agre e-
ment in accepting that perf o rmance-based funding, pro p e r l y
implemented, has merit, not least in winning the public’s supp
o rt for institutional funding and in forcing institutions to
Relationship Building
How to Please Your President
What does a campus president really need from the chief
business or financial officer? Richard Yanikoski, president
of Saint Xavier University, says that the bottom line is that
the CEO needs the CFO to “conserve the time and attention of
the president for the things that matter most.” Yanikoski offered
a packed audience of about 400 suggested strategic tasks that
CFOs can perform to impress the president and build the relationship
including:
• Educate your president, trustees, and fellow vice presidents
c o n c e rning economic terms. Talk about the diff e re n c e
between direct and indirect costs, opportunity costs,
economies of scale, and differential pricing, to name a few.
• Discuss issues of strategic significance. Link planning, budgeting,
and accountability in the mind of the president.
• Conduct exception analysis studies of education and the
social impacts of a college education.
• Examine every vendor contract.
• Lure the best talent that you can from other campuses, particularly
by adopting the best practices of others.
• Make a contingency plan for a surplus.
• Help the governing board to understand its financial responsibility.
• Help the president “sell” difficult decisions. Build up “credibility
chips” with faculty and staff.
A series of personal observations by Yanikoski also provided
common-sense advice about how to help ensure that your relationship
with the president is strong. Among his observations:
• Tell the president what he needs to hear rather than what he
wants to hear. Be a loyal critic. Your first task is to support the
institution, not the president.
• Neither seek credit nor deflect criticism.
• Protect the president from surprises.
• Do not go around the president to the board except in an
emergency.
“In today’s collaborative, team-oriented management style,
there’s a growing belief that working together makes more sense
than going it alone,” Yanikoski noted.
Jay Morley:
Fervent advocate of a strategic role for CBOs
NACUBO BUSINESS OFFICER • 35

COLIN POWELL
A Life of Promise Fulfilled, or
The Eyes of Monitoring Aunts
Ch a rm is not the first
attribute that comes to
mind when one thinks
of a professional soldier. Nor is
s e l f - d e p recating wit the first
quality that comes to mind when
one thinks of generals, especially
those who rise to command the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. But then
Colin Powell is scarcely your
typical anything, as he demonstrated
yet again at NACUBO’s
annual meeting, where he did
not so much deliver a speech as
olin Powell
mount an offensive. Pro v i n g
remarkably fluent in the ingratiating
language of schmooze, Powell entertained his listeners for
at least half an hour, lulling them into laughter and a sense of
camaraderie before he moved in for the kill. Once his serious
purpose was unveiled, he moved with dispatch, employing one
rhetorical division after another in a supple maneuver that
advanced the cause of America’s less fortunate youth. By the
time he was finished, NACUBO members were surrendering to
his persuasiveness more rapidly than did the outgunned Iraqi
f o rces to U.S. and allied troops back in the days of Desert Storm .
The charm offensive opened with that all-American literary
device, the tall tale, this time delivered with a calculated,
we’re-just-joshing-here winking eye, and married to a staple
of American history. Claiming to have “been born in your typical
log cabin in the south Bronx,” Powell related a Horatio
Alger story that culminated with a knighthood offered by
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Playing against the expectation of
high pomp, Powell assured his listeners that the truth was far
different. After he and his wife were ushered into a waiting
chamber and left alone, Powell said, “The queen walked in,
strode over to a table and picked up a small box, and said,
‘General and Mrs. Powell, so good to see you again. Here.’” The
“ h e re” was the small box, with the visible manifestation of a
Knight Commander of the Bath. End of form a l i t y. “She didn’t
even tap me on the shoulder with a sword,” Powell related with
faux disappointment. He assured his listeners that things
picked up there a f t e r, at least as far as his wife was concern e d .
Waiting in the palace court y a rd was “their” chauff e u re d
B e n t l e y, whose driver touched his cap, and said, “And where
would Lady Powell like to go now?” “Harrods” came the re p l y.
Before anyone could frame the thought “This guy lives in
a rarefied world,” Powell slid into a story that placed himself
as a regular joe. He told of the time that he was the guest of
honor at a corporate event, where he had forgotten his dinner
ticket, and was repeatedly passed over for service, even
though he was sitting at the head table, next to the CEO.
Slowly the CEO realized with horror that Powell was being
excluded, and he frantically signaled for the waitress, to
whom he explained that “this is Gen. Colin Powell.” The
waitress, Powell drolly told NACUBO members, looked at
him blankly, then at the CEO, and then said, “Doesn’t matter;
he ain’t got no ticket, honey.”
To further underscore his regular joe-ness, Powell told of
how Hasbro produced a G.I. Joe figure in his image. It’s
important to realize, Powell insisted to laughter, that “This is
an action figure, not a doll!”
With that the real Powell swung into action, pointing out
in passing that Hasbro had sought his authorization (which it
did not need) for the figure and that money had changed
hands—money that went toward “America’s Promise-The
Alliance for Youth,” the national organization founded by
Powell to mobilize support for strengthening the character
and competence of America’s youth. Speaking to an audience
of higher education administrators, Powell said, “Your challenge
is to respond to a world that is changing at a dizzying
pace. My challenge is to keep coming to you—not about your
students, who are on road to success. My job is to get involved
in lives of children without a clear path to success, to give
children at risk the resources to be children of promise.”
At the heart of America’s Promise, he explained, are five
commitments that should be made to every child born in this
country. Each child should have:
• an ongoing relationship with a caring adult—parent,
mentor, tutor, coach, some authentic role model;
• a safe place to grow and learn;
• a healthy start, with immunizations and nutrition in every
child’s life;
• a marketable skill acquired through effective education; and
• the opportunity to give back through community service.
36 • SEPTEMBER 2000

“The first two commitments,” Powell said,
“relate to a sense of community. Each child is gift
of God not just for his or her parents, but for society.
A quality public education, the church, and
adults were all there for me when I was growing
up.” Shifting his tone, Powell personalized this
account, again drawing laughter—and a spark of
recognition—from his audience as he painted a
picture of his young boyhood. “Especially there
for me,” he said, “were my aunts. These women
hung out their windows all day long, just waiting for me to put
a foot wrong. I mean, these women never went to bathroom,
never cooked a meal, never shopped; they just watched for me
to get in trouble so they could report me!” Shifting his tone
again, he continued, “As a child, I knew I was carrying the
expectations of loving adults. They would fail if I did. And
that’s what every child needs to know, because expectations
plus preparation equal success.”
Today, he went on, preparation for the future, a future with
a marketable skill, includes computer competency, and any
sound social or educational policy must include eliminating
the digital divide for those whose backgrounds do not involve
exposure to computers. The last, Powell noted, was certainly
not a problem for his grandchildren. “My grandkids,” he said,
“are totally digital. They were hard-wired early in life to think
in three dimensions. The six-year-old is never without his Sony
play station. When he comes to our house, it’s ‘Pappy, pappy,
how are you?’ And then, within five minutes, he’s left me and
suddenly all four computers in my house are turned on. He
breathes this stuff; it’s natural as air.”
One way higher education can help prepare children without
resources to become children with a bright future, said
Powell, is for institutions to become a College or University of
Promise, “to encourage their students to reach out and touch
young kids.” To date, he said, 39 colleges, universities, or higher
education associations or student organizations, ranging
from Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity to Yakima Valley Community
College, have joined the nearly 500 America’s Pro m i s e
Commitment Makers. Typical commitments made include
Eastern Kentucky University’s “Guest Readers” program, in
which students from the university have committed to reading
to more than 15,000 children in 22 rural Appalachian school
districts; “Native Vision,” a program of Johns Hopkins
University’s Center for American Indian Health that is working
in Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming; and the University of
Pennsylvania’s initiative, which has provided health education
to more than 10,000 children and administered more than
NACUBO and Commonfund joined Oracle’s campaign to aid Colin Powell's America’s
Promise, donating computers to Chicago’s public school system. It’s not too late for your
institution to “leave something behind” (see note below).
6,500 dental screenings in the Philadelphia area. (For information
on how your institution can become a College or
University of Promise, see the note at the end of this article.)
Although Powell’s profound belief in education, and his
intense desire to see that its promise was extended to all in this
country, was manifest, he was far too astute not to leaven his
appeal with the humor that seems one of his intrinsic qualities.
He offered himself as an example of what education can do.
“Just imagine,” he said, “it took me four-and-a-half years to get
a four-year degree from City College. And my ‘C’ average was
only made possible with an ‘A’ in ROTC. Now, of course,” he
continued with a tone of mock self-importance, “I am considered
one of the greatest sons of City College!”
Powell concluded his conquest of the NACUBO audience
by telling members how important they were. Summing up his
35 years in the armed forces and the fall of Communism,
Powell said, “The Soviets were contained on field of battle, but
they were defeated by ideas. The U.S. armed forces are our
insurance policy against dangers. But the real insurance policy
is what colleges and universities are doing—investing in educating
young people.”
He came, he saw, he conquered; then he left with a coda,
emphasizing his conception of the American dream. “It’s a
story of values,” he said: “The value of family, community, and
right and wrong; the belief in God; the importance of hard
work and education; and, as I was always taught, the need to
believe in yourself, even if society seems not to value you. I
believe in the powerful, redemptive value of America, which is
always striving to realize its vision.”
Note: For information about how your institution can become a
College or University of Promise, contact Michelle Rothengast, commitments
director, higher education, America’s Promise, at
MichelleR@americaspromise.org. To learn more about how your
institution can either join with Oracle, Commonfund, and NACUBO
to leave something behind in Chicago, or make a deeper commitment
to America's Promise, contact Brent Mundt, NACUBO's
director of marketing and development, at bmundt@nacubo.org.
NACUBO BUSINESS OFFICER • 37

A NNU A L MEE T ING 2000
In the ceremonial passing of the gavel, Bert
Hartley takes over as NACUBO's Chair from
Gina Kranitz.
concentrate on the needs of
students rather than of themselves.
They were also bro a d l y
in agreement on the issue of
performance criteria: the data
need to be credible and comparable
across institutions;
the scope needs to be
manageable; and clearly stated
and readily understood
objectives that are relevant to
institutions and stakeholders
need to be articulated.
E-lectricity is Forecast
No gathering of higher education administrators would be complete
without several discussions of the E-environment, not
least because how institutions cope with that environment will
determine winners and losers in an increasingly competitive
market. Whether it’s internal or external, backdoor or front
door (to say nothing of portals—although, in fact, much was
said at the annual meeting on that subject, too), the E prefix
abounds. One of the seven caucuses and four of the concurrent
sessions centered on this subject.
Vi rtually (in the old sense of the term) everyone espouses the
concept that E-business is good business; but it comes at a price,
both financial and in terms of winning support within institutions.
Bearing this in mind, David Hemingson, managing dire c-
t o r, in KPMG Consulting LLC’s higher education practice,
p rovided a tick list for business officers of the monetary and institutional
value of E-business in the “E-Choices—Making Wi s e
Decisions” caucus. When the weather gets rough, hang on to the
upside of the E-endeavor. Examples of monetary value include:
• lower operating costs through process efficiency (elimination,
streamlining, or outsourcing), re s o u rce sharing,
and purchasing effectiveness (bidding, pooled buying, and
self-service); and
• increased revenues through donor relationship management
and E-commerce activities such as pay-for-service features.
E-business also adds institutional value. A consistent
institutional approach:
• provides a uniform “brand” or image,
• builds loyalty to the institution,
• enhances information accessibility and quality, and
• provides knowledge contributions.
“E-business is a way to move yourself ahead of the pack—
to gain a competitive advantage,” Hemingson said in
summation.
“Today’s most agile organizations are highly leveraged by
outsourced partnerships that provide significant anyplace, anytime
learning opportunities,” said William H. Graves, chairman
and founder of Eduprise in a session on “A Statewide Approach
to Working with a Virtual Campus Commercial Partner.”
Kentucky partnered with Eduprise to create the Kentucky
Commonwealth Virtual University. The “start-up” was highly
successful, with an initial enrollment of 2,000.
Winds ... of Change
Everywhere one looked or listened at the annual meeting,
change was in the air. From the demographics of the workforce
to the challenges of managing privatization, from GASB/FASB
to the federal agenda for education, from technology to planning,
from taxes to retirement programs, from compliance matters
to commercial development on main street, NACUBO’s
annual meeting planners had taken into account member needs
for continuous education about the business of education. But
has no one considered: How are we gonna top this next year?
We’ve raised the bar very high. Well, not to worry—we’ll let
next year’s annual meeting planners sort that one out. For the
moment, all we need do is echo Gina’s words: “Congratulations
to Katharine Kral and the annual meeting program committee.”
Get ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple next year, from
July 28 to 31.
Author Bio Hank Chase is managing editor of Business Officer.
E-mail hchase@nacubo.org
From crowded sessions. . .
to crowded
breaks, the
annual meeting
broke all
attendance
records.
38 • SEPTEMBER 2000