University hires budget officer

FAYETTEVILLE — The next budget officer at the University of Arkansas is a certified public accountant who has served as the top financial officer at Missouri Western State University since January 2013.

Cale Fessler, 36, will begin Feb. 18 as UA’s associate vice chancellor of budget and financial planning, UA spokesman Steve Voorhies said Monday.

Total UA student enrollment increased this fall to 27,778, but growth has slowed in recent years and the Fayetteville campus — along with other public universities — agreed to a request by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to freeze instate tuition for the 2018-19 school year.

Fessler will plan a budget that in 2018-19 included anticipated revenue of $472.4 million, not including athletics dollars or other units with separate budgets, according to documents published on the university’s website.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to work at the University of Arkansas. The position’s emphasis on budget development and operational and capital financial planning were particular draws for me,” Fessler said.

UA in 2013 created the position of associate vice chancellor of budget and financial planning, doing so after a multimillion-dollar deficit in the university’s main fundraising arm led to scrutiny by lawmakers.

The university’s financial affairs team has since undergone several changes. Fessler will work under Chris McCoy, who began in August as vice chancellor for finance and administration.

McCoy made the transition from being the university’s chief information officer. At the time of his hire, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz noted the ongoing work to implement what’s known as enterprise resource planning, which is a name given to information technology aimed at integrating various parts of business operations.

The technology is a project for all campuses in the University of Arkansas System. When McCoy was hired, Steinmetz said his technology experience “will serve us well as we begin to implement the project and modernize our financial and human resources processes.”

Before the hire, McCoy’s career had been in various information-technology roles, and upon his hire a UA spokesman described plans to bring on board a finance team to include a budget and financial planning officer.

Fessler, licensed as a CPA in Missouri, said he earned a master’s of business administration degree from Lincoln University in Missouri and a doctorate in business administration from Northcentral University, an online institution.

His last day at Missouri Western is Feb. 1, and in a statement Monday by the university in St. Joseph, Mo., he said he was “proud of the work our dedicated employees have done in some pretty tough financial circumstances.”

Kent Heier, assistant director of public relations and marketing at Missouri Western, said the university enrolled 5,707 students this fall and has an annual budget of about $69 million.

“As with many public universities across the country, these last few years have been pretty challenging financially. Basically expenses are going up and state appropriations are staying the same or going down,” Heier said.

He praised Fessler, stating Missouri Western was “able to move forward” on some “pretty substantial capital improvements, thanks in part to private donors but also thanks in part to his leadership and vision.” The school has worked on athletic upgrades Heier said were needed as a host site for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs training camp.

Before joining Missouri Western, Fessler in 2004 began working in finance at the private William Woods University in Missouri, according to Missouri Western. Fessler said he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer information systems from William Woods.

Fessler’s duties at UA will include directing and coordinating the university’s “operating budget planning and allocation process,” according to details from a job description, as well as assessing and reporting “on financial performance for all areas of the university.”

Voorhies said Fessler will earn an annual salary of $200,000, pending approval by University of Arkansas trustees.

“This is a unique opportunity to work with an outstanding team and help the University of Arkansas continue to thrive and achieve its mission of serving Arkansas and the world in a myriad of ways,” Fessler said.

Fessler