Fond du Lac recognized for financial management

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has received the Excellence in Financial Management Award from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System.

The award recognizes excellence in financial management leadership and teamwork and was presented on campus on Aug. 13 by Laura King, vice chancellor and chief financial officer of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System.

Excellence in Financial Management awards are given for significant contributions to increased efficiency and effectiveness of finances and administrative services throughout the institution. Stephanie Hammitt, Chief Financial Officer at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, accepted the award on behalf of the college.

“It is my great honor to present this Excellence in Financial Management Award to President Larry Anderson and Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Hammitt,” said Vice Chancellor King. “I’m so thrilled with the work this college has done. Larry’s and Stephanie’s leadership and everyone’s commitment to the future of the college was necessary for the incredible progress that’s been made here in the last several years. I’m delighted to be here to congratulate everyone because it is the product of everyone’s effort.”

The awards program, which began in 1997, publicly recognizes the outstanding contributions of the system’s college and university employees who work in finance management. This is the first time Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has received the Excellence in Financial Management Award.

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College was selected for the award from nominations made by college presidents. and college and university leadership.

“We have an awards evaluation that we go through system-wide, and Stephanie and Larry produced some information for us and applied for the award,” said King. “I encouraged them to do so, because I had seen the work that had been done here over the last several years and I thought that they were ready. We don’t give this to every college. We didn’t give it to any state universities this year but we did give it to Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.”

The award covers a complete picture of fiscal management, including how colleges build annual budgets, identify priorities, monitor expenditures, ensure accountability practices are in place, and train employees about the financial management and processes used at the college.

“This award is recognition of the really hard work that is being done here around the budget process, around strategic planning, around audit findings, internal controls, the work of the faculty and staff to plan and to think carefully about where the college is going, where the priorities are, and how to direct resources towards your priorities,” said King. “And it’s recognition that there’s a spirit here that recognizes that this college is a perpetual jewel in the community. If it’s going to be a perpetual jewel, it takes very careful planning and leadership. It’s building block by building block every year, and we’ll evaluate every year. It is my hope that I will be back here next year because I think you’ve got the framework in place now to be able to maintain and prosper in the years ahead.”

Strengthening and maintaining the highest levels of financial management has been a primary goal of the college.

“I know what hard work has gone on here over the last several years,” said King to the college employees who assembled during the award ceremony held on campus. “I know how hard everyone has worked to improve processes, improve procedures, and to train everyone in the college to read a budget report and to think about how much everything costs, what are we going to need next year, how many students are we going to have, how many sections do we need. That’s all very, very important work. And it builds up and concludes with the financial capacity to serve the students and the community.”

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College was founded in 1987 and celebrates 25 years of education during the 2012-2013 academic year. More than 2,800 students were enrolled in credit-based courses last year.

Tags: news, business, money