The UNA executive faculty is in the final stages of interviewing to hire a new Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs after former Vice President Steve Smith retired in December.

The vice president for Business and Financial Affairs serves the chief financial officer of the university, according to the official job description.

The current candidates are Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Darrell Morrison, Vice President for Finance and Administration at Centenary College in Shreveport, La. Stephanie Owens and Deputy State Finance Director Clinton Carter.

Knowing who is maintaining the university’s finances is especially important to the students who are putting themselves through school, said junior Hailey Holke.

“I definitely want to know what experience the candidates have had with budgeting and monitoring funds because we as students (and sometimes parents and guardians of students) are putting forth a Herculean effort in helping us afford school,” she said.

If the person the university hires is unskilled at managing funds then there’s a huge potential for the university falling into precarious financial situations, which could directly affect students, Holke said.

UNA partnered with a search firm called Wheless Partners to locate a pool of potential candidates, said University President William Cale.

“UNA is a public organization, however, search firms are private,” he said. “Candidates can assume applicants information will be totally confidential until the hiring stage.”

The university takes this approach to build a larger and stronger candidate pool, Cale said.

“Internally we have a search committee here at the university,” he said. “We also put out an ad for the job in the Chronicle of Higher Learning.”

After the search firm reduced the candidates to a pool of 10-15, they were provided a face-to-face interview at the Huntsville airport, Cale said.

At a relatively small institution like UNA, students have the opportunity to meet and build relationships with their faculty and staff members, Vice President of Senate Nikki Messer said.

“Students should value that opportunity and take interest in the vice president of business and financial affairs position due to the high importance it holds,” she said.

All the governments related to the position such as department chairs, faculty senate, SGA, executive council and the Board of Trustees will get to interact with the candidates.

Cale will ultimately make the decision with consideration of opinions from every group, he said.

SGA President Laura Giles will also be serving on the voting board on behalf of the student body, she said.

“What I am looking for in the Vice President of Financial and Business Affairs candidates is someone who is concerned with students and maintaining the lowest tuition possible,” Giles said. “I am also looking for someone who is interested in continuing the growth of the university.”