Search for a Vice President for Administration and Finance

Dear Emerson Community,

I am writing to inform you of important details related to our search for a Vice President for Administration and Finance.

Interim Vice President

I am happy to report that Philip Shapiro, an experienced and highly respected senior financial and administrative officer, will serve as interim Vice President for Administration and Finance, effective 4 February.

Phil has held several finance and administrative roles with distinction. He knows Emerson very well, particularly when he served as a managing director in public finance at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group.

He served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Babson College (2005 – 2014) and as Interim Chief Financial Officer at Simmons College, Trinity College and Perkins School for the Blind. He was also Acting Executive Director/CEO of The Boston Consortium for Higher Education.

He led the financing of the $4 billion Boston Harbor Clean-up from 1984 to 1993. Among his previous positions were Budget Director and Director of Investor Relations at Bank of New England Corp., Executive Director of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Advisory Board and Special Assistant to former Governor James B. Longley of Maine. He is Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Massachusetts Educational Finance Authority (MEFA).

He holds a B.A. degree from Amherst College, M.Ed. in higher education counseling and administration from the University of Maine/Orono and an M.B.A. from Boston College.

Search Consultants

Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, with whom we have previously and successfully worked with on filling senior administrative positions, will serve as our search consultants. Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates focuses on executive searches in the education and nonprofit sectors. The firm’s network and years of experience have given it the ability to identify and evaluate the finest senior executives of all backgrounds. Storbeck/Pimentel is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion, sharing their clients’ belief that finding new leaders from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented is crucial to advancing society’s educational needs.

Search Committee

The search committee, chaired by Michael MacWade, Emerson College Trustee and Board Treasurer, and Chair of the Finance Committee, will be comprised of:

Lee Pelton
Jeff Greenhawt, Emerson College Trustee, Board Chair
Eric Alexander, Emerson College Trustee
Leo Hindery, Emerson College Trustee
Raj Sharma, Emerson College Trustee
Doug Holloway, Emerson College Trustee
Susan Namm Spencer, Emerson College Trustee
Ruthanne Madsen, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Michaele Whelan, Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs
Art Mombourquette, Senior Associate Vice President, Real Estate
Ian Mandt, B.S. candidate ‘19, Student Government Association Executive Treasurer
Tim Riley, Faculty Assembly Chair and Associate Professor of Journalism

Sincerely,
Lee Pelton