George Ross replaces Nasser
George Ross said he is excited about being named vice president of Finance and Administrative Services.
Ross, executive vice president at Clark Atlanta University, will take over the duties of the position, effective Dec. 9.
“I’m particularly impressed with (University) President (Michael) Rao and (Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Bob) Kohrman. There are some good people there, and I think I’ll be a good fit,” he said. “My style is generally to listen, but I’m not shy about talking about what needs to happen, in my opinion.”
Ross will replace Abdul Nasser, who resigned in May for personal reasons. Jonas Cook, senior officer for financial services and reporting, has served as interim vice president.
As the university’s chief financial officer, Ross will be responsible for the management of the university’s financial and physical resources.
He will oversee Financial Services and Reporting, Budget and Planning, Human Resources, Facilities Management, Residences and Auxiliary Services, CMU Police, the General Counsel’s Office, University Health Services and Campus Recreational Services.
Rao said Ross is experienced in the higher education finance environment.
“I think his higher education finance background is very strong, and obviously he’s done very well,” he said. “Higher education throughout the country has begun to see quite a bit of a revenue decline from state sources, so I’d be surprised if too much is very new to him.”
Cook said he was impressed with Ross during the interview process.
“He’s a great guy with extremely good credentials, and has good experience in the higher education industry,” Cook said. “It’s also good that he’s got experience in the for-profit industry.”
Ross, a certified public accountant, has bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Alabama.
He has served as the chief financial and business officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, vice president for business and fiscal affairs at Tuskegee University in Alabama, and director of finance for the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Ross also has worked for the Southeastern Michigan Business Development Center, George Johnson and Co., Clipper International Corp., and Arthur Young and Co.
Cook said he showed Ross around the community and had decent time to discuss several issues with him as part of the interview process.
“I’m looking forward to working with him,” he said. “My approach is to bring him up to speed in dealing with issues in the division and university and be all the support I can as he moves into his new position.
“He’s going to be a good individual, and I think he has probably dealt with many of the things we deal with on this campus.”
Ross said Cook has done an “excellent job as interim vice president and continues to do excellent job as (chief financial officer).
“I’m excited about coming, and I’m looking forward to joining the team.”
Per Rao’s vision statement about making CMU more prominent at a national level, Ross said he’ll be a big part of that.
Trustee Jerry Campbell, chairman of the eight-member search committee, could not be reached for comment.
