Clark State College has appointed Doug Schantz to the position of vice president of business affairs. Schantz, a life-long resident of Springfield, Ohio, and graduate of Wittenberg University, joined Clark State as the associate vice president of business affairs on June 1, 2020. He will supersede Larry Wakefield who will retire this June.
“Over the course of the last year, I have enjoyed working side-by-side with the dynamic leadership team at Clark State to further the mission of the college and promote the success of our students,” said Schantz. “I look forward to building upon that momentum in my new role.”
Schantz said as a Springfield native, he continues to be in awe of Clark State’s commitment to meeting the educational and workforce development needs of the community.
“I feel privileged and honored to have the opportunity to serve in a capacity that will help to foster and promote that commitment,” he said.
Schantz previously served as the director of business operations at Wittenberg University where he was employed for more than 20 years. At the foundation of his experience is a deeply rooted commitment to establish an infrastructure of services and programs that positively impact student success in the higher education landscape.
In addition to his time at Clark State and Wittenberg, Schantz served the higher education business officer community in a leadership capacity at the state and national levels including: guiding National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) committees to draft white paper guidance on tax regulations and cash management rules for peers across the nation and providing the Ohio Attorney General’s Education Sub-Committee with information to help to mitigate student loan debt in Ohio.
“Doug has proven himself to be collaborative, thoughtful, deliberate, student-centered, and strategic during his year at Clark State, and I look forward to working with him in this new role,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “I have received such positive feedback from the faculty and staff as they have worked with Doug this past year, and he has the full support of the Board of Trustees.”
Wakefield joined Clark State in 2016 as interim vice president of business affairs through June 30, 2017. He returned again to the role as interim from October 16, 2017 to June 30, 2018 and served in the position permanently for the last three years.
He will remain at Clark State through the fall as a Special Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Projects.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Larry, and he leaves Clark State in an extremely strong financial position,” said Blondin. “Larry has led so many projects too numerous to mention, including the renovations at Rhodes Hall, and his work leading Clark State’s finances, infrastructure, maintenance, grounds, purchasing, Human Resources, and student accounts has been peerless and outstanding.”
Wakefield said the people at Clark State have been great and he has enjoyed his time in Ohio. He hopes to do some consulting and serve as an interim CFO where needed.