The second in a series of three open forums hosted the second finalist for the position of vice president of administration and finance at Cal State Long Beach Tuesday afternoon.
Mary Stephens, the current vice president of business and finance at CSU Stanislaus, said if selected, she would perform the similar duties like she is currently doing at Stanislaus, such as overseeing finances, internal auditing and campus police.
However, she said that all of this would be done on a larger scale at CSULB because it is a bigger campus than Stanislaus.
When asked about what she would do differently at CSULB, if anything, Stephens said, “I’m going to have to make an adjustment.”
Stephens said how the size difference of the campus would be an obvious factor in the adjustments she would make.””I do also know that we are in an environment of constant change.”
Stephens has been at Stanislaus for 10 years.
“I’ve seen a lot of change up at the Stanislaus campus,” she said. “We struggle with all the same issues.”
Stephens described herself as a multitasker, saying that she likes “having a lot of things on [her] plate.”
The disagreements between the California Faculty Association and the CSU system, concerning executive salary increases and faculty pay, were also brought to Stephens’ attention.
“The system as a whole is trying to assure all our employees are adequately and fairly compensated,” said Stephens. “I have respect for the trustees for doing the right thing.”
Laurie C. Angel, division fiscal manager at CSULB, asked Stephens about her views on fiscal planning and the change to trust funds through the Revenue Management Program. Stephens said the implementation of the RMP would be a good idea in the long run.
“I do think it will be good for our long-term benefit,” said Stephens. “We need to understand our cash flow.”
Laurinda Fuller, CSULB’s senior internal auditor, asked what Stephens’ experience was with internal auditing.
“I’ve always approached audits as an opportunity to partner with auditors thinking, OK, ‘They’re going to be helpful.’ “
Stephens went on to explain that with audits “it shouldn’t always be,’There’s a problem, [and] we need to know what the problem is.’ “
The audience laughed when CSULB President F. King Alexander asked the candidate she would “deal with an impatient president.” Stephens responded to the question by emphasizing the importance of presenting alternatives.
“We need to be able to articulate what we are doing and how we are doing it,” said Stephens.
Stephens was born and raised in the Bay Area, and attended UC Berkeley for her undergraduate education. After earning her bachelor’s degree in history, she moved to Washington, D.C. After her experience in Washington, she came back to California to go back to school, where she eventually earned an M.B.A. from UCLA.
