Senior VP for Finance and Business Retires

Gary Schultz retired this week after having served for 14 years as the university’s senior vice president for finance and business. Al Horvath, the current vice president for finance and business, will be taking his position effective today.

In his position, Schultz was responsible for managing the 5,000 person workforce associated with “business operations, finance, and technology.” Oddly enough, he was also the designated executive for the Office of the Physical Plant and University Police.

Schultz will also be leaving a profound legacy from one of his other duties, serving as the chairman of the Penn State Investment Council, the organization tasked with investing the university’s $1.6 billion endowment.

Unfortunately for Schultz, he took the position at the height of the dot-com bubble and is leaving in the middle of the (say it with me now) worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. But still, the absolute amount of the endowment has grown even if return on investment has not. In 2001, the endowment was worth $986,300,000. As of 2008, it was worth $1,615,500,000.

That’s not to say he’s leaving the university in a great position financially. But it’s unclear how much of the budgeting came from him and how much comes from Our Dear Leader, Graham Basis Spanier.