Huidekoper Named New V.P. for Finance

Elizabeth "Beppie" Huidekoper has been named the University's Vice President for Finance, President Neil L. Rudenstine announced today.

Huidekoper will assume the post on May 6, succeeding Allen J. Proctor, who stepped down earlier this month.

"Beppie Huidekoper is a person of exceptional talent, initiative, and energy," Rudenstine said. "She served for 14 years as one of Harvard's most capable and highly regarded administrators, and she clearly has a deep knowledge of Harvard and a strong command of the financial challenges facing the University.

"She also has an uncommon talent for thinking through the interplay between academic goals and financial resources, and for working with colleagues across the University on ways to make our administrative and financial systems more effective and efficient," Rudenstine said. "I'm very pleased that she has agreed to return to Harvard, and I very much look forward to welcoming her back."

Huidekoper said she is "excited and challenged" by the prospect of assuming her new role. "My respect for the people here, and for all that the institution works so hard to achieve, has only been heightened by my experiences of the last year. At the same time, I have become even more aware of the important and largely unprecedented economic challenges facing Harvard and all of higher education. We have complex issues to contend with and some difficult choices to make in order to ensure our fundamental economic well-being over the long term. I look forward to making a contribution by working closely with others at Harvard to sustain our revenue streams, to control costs, and to make sure the University administration serves the needs of faculty and students in the best possible ways."

Huidekoper began her Harvard career in 1981 as a senior financial analyst. She became associate director of the Office of Budgets in 1983, and director of the Office in 1985. The following year, she was also named director of the Office of Research Administration, and the two directorships were combined. In those roles, she was responsible for overseeing an annual budget that had grown to more than $1.3 billion by 1994, and for supervising the administration of more than $300 million a year in sponsored research support.

Huidekoper played a central role in the academic and campaign planning process launched by President Rudenstine in 1991. She served as Acting Vice President for Finance for six months in 1994, before taking a year off, during which she attended the advanced management program at the University of Virginia, participated in the Aspen Institute seminars, traveled, and volunteered in the Boston Public Schools.

"We have a lot of work to do in the coming years to maintain a sound financial footing while adapting to changing times," said Provost Albert Carnesale. "Beppie Huidekoper will play a key role in that effort, and I'm delighted that she will be rejoining us."

Before coming to Harvard, Huidekoper served as deputy director of the Council for Northeast Economic Action, a nonprofit organization involved in economic development and research projects in New England. Previously, she was project manager in the city of Boston's Office of Management and Budgets. She holds a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A. from Boston University.

Huidekoper is a member of the Harvard School of Public Health's Advisory Council on Children's Health. She serves as an overseer of the New England Conservatory, a trustee of the Westover School in Middlebury, Conn., and a member of the board of Urban Improv, a Boston-based program serving at-risk inner-city students.