Stanford University seeks an accomplished and strategic leader as its Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration (SVPFA). The next SVPFA will have the opportunity to serve in a leadership role at a research university with a rich tradition of innovation, entrepreneurship, and discovery. Stanford finds itself entering an exciting new chapter in the institution’s history. With a new president and provost, a new generation of leaders is ready to bring fresh ideas and strategies to strengthen and advance the university’s mission of high-quality education and rigorous research. The SVPFA will work with a leadership group and university community that are optimistic about the future and cognizant of the many opportunities and challenges in the dynamic landscape of higher education. To meet them, Stanford will require an SVPFA who can bring creativity and a high level of competence to how the institution thinks about and manages its finances and operations.
The SVPFA reports to President Jonathan Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez. They are a member of the president’s senior leadership team and have oversight of the office of Business Affairs, which has the primary responsibility for financial and administrative matters. The success of the next SVPFA will be determined by how well they provide sound strategic advice regarding financial and administrative matters and their ability to bring keen insights and good judgment to a diverse set of complex issues. They will also be an important voice on how to reduce administrative burdens that often impede timely decision-making or make straightforward tasks needlessly complex. Given Stanford’s large and decentralized nature, the SVPFA must assiduously build collaborative relationships, consult with a broad range of stakeholders, and communicate clearly and transparently regarding complex issues. The SVPFA oversees a large team, and they must effectively lead and manage a group of experienced and talented professionals. Continuing to ensure that Stanford has the right and most effective management systems and platforms will also be an important task of the SVPFA.
Stanford University has retained the search firm Isaacson, Miller to assist with this recruitment. All inquiries, applications, and nominations for this opportunity should be directed, in confidence, to the search firm as indicated at the end of this document.
ABOUT STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1885, Stanford is one of the world’s premiere institutions of higher education. From the beginning, Stanford stood apart from the broader higher education landscape: coeducational in a time when most private universities were all-male; nondenominational when most were associated with a religious organization; and practical, producing cultured and useful citizens. The institution has been defined by its willingness to experiment beyond known limits and has thus achieved some of the most iconic advancements in technology, medicine, business, the arts, humanities, and the social sciences of the 20th and 21st centuries. With its close ties to Silicon Valley, the future is arguably invented at Stanford. This ethos continues to inspire faculty, staff, students, university leadership, and Stanford’s talented and accomplished alumni. Stanford remains committed to providing rigorous research and scholarship, broad world-class education, and cultivating the next generation of national and global leaders.
As of Fall 2024, the University has over 17,000 students who come from all 50 states and 70 countries—representing a diverse, global, and dynamic student community—as well as over 2,300 faculty who are leaders in their fields. The core academic mission at Stanford is anchored by its eight schools: the Graduate School of Business, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Graduate School of Education, School of Engineering, School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford Law School, and the School of Medicine. Stanford is home to 18 independent labs, institutes, and centers, and includes the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
There are more than 7,500 externally funded sponsored projects throughout the university with a total sponsored support revenue of $1.98 billion during FY 2023. The federal government sponsors over three-quarters of research projects, including those at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC). For 2024/25, Stanford had an operating budget of approximately $9.7 billion.
Stanford Medicine
Stanford Medicine is comprised of the university’s School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Children’s Health (formerly Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital). It is an integrated academic health system that combines the research capabilities of the university with Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health network of clinical care facilities. In FY 2023, the university’s health care services revenue increased by $139 million or 9% to $1.6 billion, driven by patient care needs and growth in the hospitals’ clinical programs. Reflecting its exemplary reputation as a research-intensive school, the School of Medicine continues to succeed in securing NIH and other competitive federal and foundation funding. In 2023, Stanford Medicine ranked sixth nationally in total NIH funding to schools of medicine, reflecting the expansion of translational and clinical research.
Current Financial Position
Stanford, which includes the financial results of the university, Stanford Health Care, Stanford Children’s Health, and their respective affiliates, ended FY 2024 with a consolidated operating surplus of $605 million, an increase of 109% as compared to FY 2023, primarily driven by Stanford Health Care. Consolidated operating revenues increased 12% to $18.3 billion, driven by increases in health care revenues, sponsored support, and investment income distributed for operations.
Consolidated operating expenses grew 10% to $17.7 billion, primarily due to a 10% rise in salaries and benefits and an 11% increase in other operating expenses driven by expanded research activities, competitive compensation, enhanced financial aid programs, and inflation. Total operating revenues increased by $2.0 billion or 12% to $18.3 billion.
The value of the university endowment at the end of FY 2024 increased by $1.1 billion, or 3%, to $37.6 billion after distributing $1.8 billion to support current operations, including vital academic programs and financial aid.
More information about Stanford’s financial position can be found here: https://bondholder-information.stanford.edu/financials/annual-reports.
Current Leadership
President Jonathan Levin
Jonathan Levin is a distinguished economist and Stanford alumnus who has led the Stanford Graduate School of Business as dean for the last eight years, before becoming President on August 1, 2024. Levin is widely recognized for his scholarship in industrial organization and market design. His research has spanned topics ranging from incentive contracts to game theory to e-commerce, consumer lending, and healthcare competition. In 2021, Levin was invited by President Biden to serve on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Levin attended Stanford as an undergraduate, completing a BA in English and a BS in mathematics in 1994. He then completed an MPhil in economics from Oxford University and a PhD in economics from MIT.
Provost Jenny Martinez
Jenny Martinez is the Provost at Stanford University and was previously the dean of Stanford Law School. Professor Martinez is a leading expert on international law and constitutional law, including comparative constitutional law. Before joining the Stanford faculty in 2003, Professor Martinez clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer (BA ’59) of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She was also an associate legal officer for Judge Patricia Wald of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, where she worked on trials involving genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. She received her B.A. in History from Yale University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
THE ROLE: SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Dually reporting to the President and to the Provost, the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration serves as the university’s chief financial officer and directs the business operations and most of the administrative functions of the university under the office of Business Affairs. Currently, the SVPFA oversees six administrative organizations within Business Affairs: Financial Management Services; Office of the Treasurer; Office of Research Administration; University IT; Improvement, Analytics, and Innovation Services; Office of the Chief Risk Officer; hiring process should contact Stanford University Human Resources by submitting a contact form.
Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. See Admin Guide 1.7.4: Equal Employment Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and Affirmative Action Policy; Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal; Pay Transparency Non-Discrimination Provision.
