CWU Appoints Interim CFO, Launches Vice Presidential Searches

Central Washington University president James L. Gaudino has appointed Joel Klucking interim chief financial officer and vice president for Business and Financial Affairs (BFA), effective February 18, 2016. That’s the date George Clark, who currently holds the position, will leave CWU to become chief financial officer at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The president also announced a restructuring of BFA to provide new emphasis on enrollment management. The university will immediately launch a national search for a vice president of enrollment management, led by Paul Ballard, the dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies.

A search for an associate vice president of enrollment management failed earlier this year and is being restructured to attract top candidates. The Department of Admissions and Department of Student Financial Services, which coordinates all categories of student financial aid, will report to the vice president of enrollment management.

“I’m delighted that Joel has agreed to lead BFA through this reorganization,” Gaudino said. “Joel brings a wealth of experience in finance and tremendous personal credibility throughout the university, the local community, and Puget Sound finance industry.”

Klucking is an Ellensburg native and 1990 alumnus of CWU, where he earned a BS in accounting. Following graduation, he worked for Starbucks Coffee Company for more than 17 years. During his tenure at Starbucks, he had exposure to nearly every area of accounting and eventually ended up managing the Sarbanes-Oxley compliance program and running the day-to-day operations of internal audit for the company.

Returning to the university in 2011, Klucking was first the finance manager for the President’s Division, and later added the CWU Foundation operations to his role. He was subsequently named associate vice president of Finance & Business Auxiliaries where he was responsible for financial services, business services, procurement and contracts, the Wildcat Shop, dining services, catering, conference programs and Wildcat printing.

Gaudino noted that for many decades CWU enrollment management functions were assigned to a vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. CWU eliminated that vice presidential position in the wake of dramatic reductions in state support, in 2009.

“The ‘industry standard’ for leadership in enrollment management is a vice presidential position,” Gaudino said. “Enrollment has become a critical aspect of university support and we’ve got to recruit the very best for this position.

Later this winter, the university will launch a national search for the vice president of business and financial affairs, to be chaired by Tim Englund, the dean of the College of the Sciences. The vice president for BFA will direct the work of departments of Financial Planning and Analysis, Finance and Business Auxiliaries along with Internal Audit.

Media contact: Linda Schactler, CWU Public Affairs, 509-­607-­4103, Schactler@cwu.edu