As Frank Anthony settles in as Seymour University’s new president, he confronts ongoing fiscal and leadership challenges. The university is in dire financial straits, the campus suffers from a substantial deferred maintenance problem, enrollment is unstable, and the global economy is in a tailspin. With a mission to serve the economically disadvantaged and train graduates for teaching, ministry, and careers of service, Seymour has a long-standing and well-entrenched disinclination toward financial transparency, ambitious fund raising, and rigorous strategic planning. Anthony had concluded a capital campaign during his first year in office at the same time he was trying to become acquainted with key campus constituencies and members of the board. His job is made more complicated by deciding to develop a strategic plan that includes both the university’s standing planning committee and a newly-created, faculty-chaired Budget Committee (a group that immediately draws the ire of Seymour’s chief financial officer and budget director). President Anthony’s challenge is to instill fiscal discipline and integrity at a skeptical campus in the absence of a comprehensive strategic plan.

Subjects: Financial Management, Financial Planning, Leadership
Setting: Public

If you are interested in receiving the teaching note for this case, contact Laura Madden at laura_madden@harvard.edu.