Teachers College has named Harvey Spector as its new Vice President for Finance and Administration, effective June 4, 2007.

Spector, a native New Yorker who served as deputy budget director in New York City's Office of Management and Budget under Mayor Koch in the late 1980s, will leave his current post as Vice President for Finance and Operations at Fashion Institute of Technology, where he served for the past decade. During that period, he led the restructuring of almost every administrative service area within the college to improve operating effectiveness, meet changing regulatory requirements, and improve service to students and employees. Spector also managed a construction program that produced three new campus buildings, including a conference center and a 1,200-bed residence that doubled the school's residential student population.

Spector holds masters degrees in public administration and city and regional planning from Ohio State University. Prior to his work at FIT, he was director of Management and Budget for the New York City Transit Authority and a special advisor to the New York State Financial Control Board.

With the hiring of Spector, Teachers College ends a search that began last October with the departure of Fred Schnur, its longtime VPFA. The position has been filled on an interim basis by Morton Grusky, former Vice Dean for Finance and Administration at the School of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.  

"We are very pleased that Harvey Spector has decided to join the administrative team at Teachers College," said Susan H. Fuhrman, the College's President. "He brings nearly 30 years of financial experience, including an orientation toward multi-year planning and the track record of having helped FIT accomplish a complete turnaround of its facilities, administrative processes and finances. With his roots and commitment to New York City, Harvey is a natural choice to help lead the College into a new era."

"The feedback from all the groups that met with Harvey is that he is a talented, experienced person who is interested in genuine collaboration and committed to the full sharing of information within the TC community," added Gary Natriello, Ruth L. Gottesman Professor of Education Research, who chaired the advisory committee for the search process.

Spector said he looks forward to working both in a graduate school environment and a school of education.

"Teachers College is one of the great educational institutions in the nation, and under Susan Fuhrman, it is poised to do tremendous things," he said. "I'm thrilled and honored to be joining that effort."

Spector also applauded the College's current emphasis on expanding and improving its research output, which he said could ultimately help boost its revenues. He said that his immediate priorities will be to establish a long-range financial plan for the institution and address ongoing maintenance issues.

Spector is married to Connie Kaiser, former deputy commissioner of New York's Child Welfare Administration and now a senior administrator with the Graham Windham agency.

Published Tuesday, Apr. 17, 2007