The Division of Finance and Administration has announced the first phase of organizational changes following a comprehensive assessment launched earlier this year. These changes will align more closely with OSU’s strategic plan, Prosperity Widely Shared, and enhance the division’s ability to serve as a partner across the university.
The assessment included input from DFA employees, academic and administrative leaders and external consultants. Findings pointed to fragmented processes, siloed operations and a complex middle-management structure; uneven service delivery with redundancies in some areas and gaps in others; inconsistent access to professional development and growth opportunities for DFA employees; and unclear roles that resulted in a disconnect between day-to-day work and larger university priorities.
Key updates include:
- Strategic realignment of OSU’s budget and finance functions to support more integrated resource planning, analysis and transparency. This repositioning will be led by a newly established associate vice president and deputy chief financial officer role, which will provide unified oversight of key financial strategies. This realignment will include the consolidation of procurement functions, spanning vendor strategies, purchasing, travel and expenses.
- The sunset of the senior associate vice president for administration office, with new reporting lines for impacted units.
- Elevation of public safety as a direct report to the vice president for finance and administration, reflecting national best practices and peer benchmarking that recognize the critical role of campus safety within institutional leadership.
- Realignment of units such as Environmental Health and Safety and Insurance and Risk Management under Facilities Planning and Management.
- Consolidation of capital planning, capital project delivery, sustainability and space management under Capital Planning and Resources and a Campus Services unit which will include Transportation Services, Motor Pool and Materials Management. Both units will report to Facilities Planning and Management.
- Discontinuation of the Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Office, with project managers and analysts being reassigned where possible.
These and other changes will roll out in phases through November 2025. A SharePoint site with FAQs, a timeline and feedback opportunities is available to support transparency and engagement throughout the process.
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