Barrie Wilkes’ dual roles with the university will become one on Sunday.

Wilkes has served as the interim associate vice president for
financial services and reporting since October 2005, but his interim
status will be removed at the beginning of next month. He also will
continue to serve as the university’s controller, a position he has
maintained since 1992.

Wilkes said the merged positions will require a 50/50 split.

“One area might be really busy, while the other is fine,” Wilkes
said.

George Ross, vice president for Finance and Administrative Services,
said the merger took place because the university wanted to flatten the
organization.

“We took a layer of management out and flattened it out,” Ross said
in his office Tuesday morning.

A controller monitors all cash disbursements, Ross said. Wilkes will
also oversee University Events, risk management and insurance, along
with several other duties.

Ross selected Wilkes to assume the interim responsibilities of
associate vice president for financial services and reporting after
Jonas Cook retired after 19 years of service, as reported in an earlier
Central Michigan Life article.

The university had the idea of merging both of Wilkes’ positions
during the summer, but the merger required clearance from the Human
Resources department and University President Michael Rao.

“A couple weeks ago, George (Ross) let me know that he and the
president were supportive of me to have the combined positions go
through,” Wilkes said.

The merger was approved in early September, Ross said.

“If we had a larger endowment, we’d have two separate positions,”
Ross said.

Ross said Wilkes’ new job is another way to streamline processes.

Compared to other universities, Ross said CMU has far fewer
employees.

“I’m trading two positions for one,” he said. “We do more with less.”

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