Grambling Gets OK to Hire VP of Finance - Brief Article

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The top state education board last month gave Grambling State University the go-ahead to hire a vice president of finance -- a move that university President Dr. Steve Favors says is significant in improving the school.

The University of Louisiana Systems Board of Supervisors told Favors he could hire the financial officer once the background checks into the two finalists for the post are completed.

The board's personnel committee approved Favors' recommendations to pursue Billy Owens, a consultant who previously worked as vice president for business and fiscal affairs at Tuskegee University in Alabama, and Cornelius Wooten, vice president for finance at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla.

They were chosen from a pool of more than 20 applicants, says board member Gordon Pugh.

"Both would be extremely helpful and useful for the position at Grambling State," Pugh told the board.

Hiring a vice president of finance has been one of Favors' top priorities since a scathing report issued in May by Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle noted the poor financial management at the university (see Black Issues, July 6).

"It's the most important person I hire at the university," Favors says, noting the institution still has a lot of work to do to eliminate all the problems plaguing the campus.

The audit noted accounting problems that led to incomplete records, errors and omissions in cash receipts and a lack of bank reconciliations.

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