Vice President for Finance and Treasurer:
Scott R. Douglass

Scott R. Douglass has been appointed as the Vice President for Finance and Treasurer, EVP Craig Carnaroli announced last week. Mr. Douglass has been the Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration of the Wharton School. He will begin his new role on December 16. 

Mr. Douglass joined the University in 1992, serving first as Associate Dean at Wharton until his promotion to Senior Associate Dean in 1997. Prior to joining Penn, he served as the Secretary of Finance for the State of Delaware.

 “His appointment concludes a three-month search process from a broad and strong candidate pool,” Mr. Carnaroli noted.     

Mr. Douglass is a “seasoned and talented financial executive who brings a variety of important operational skills to his new position. As the Senior Associate Dean at Wharton, Scott served as Chief Financial and Operating Officer for one of the premier business schools managing a $250 million operating budget for 212 faculty, 500 staff, and 5,000 students. His oversight included directing management of a 150-person team in the areas of finance, budgeting, information technology, technology transfer, facilities and human resources. Scott combines strong managerial and leadership skills that will enable him to prudently steward Penn’s resources.” Mr. Carnaroli said.

Mr. Douglass’s responsibilities at Wharton have included: leading a team responsible for programming, design and construction of Jon M. Huntsman Hall; eliminating a structural administrative services budget deficit through business process re-engineering; redesign of the Executive Education finance system; and leading a team that developed the business plan for Wharton’s San Francisco campus.

While at the State of Delaware, Mr. Douglass served as the State’s Chief Financial Officer overseeing execution of a $1.7 billion operating budget, directing management of a 260-person team and serving as the Governor’s principal liaison to legislators and business leaders for developing and implementing fiscal and public policies. His operational oversight included revenue forecasting, tax collection, payroll, and accounting and annual debt issuance exceeding $250 million. He lead the effort to retain the State’s AA-plus bond rating during and after a prolonged recession, which made it the nation’s fifth highest-rated state—an improvement from twelfth at the start of the recession.                

Mr. Douglass holds both a bachelor’s (1973) and a master’s degree (1976) in political science from the University of Delaware.

  Almanac, Vol. 51, No. 15, December 14, 2004

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