Jillian Knauf | Special to The Roanoke Times

Donna VanCleave

Radford University vice president for finance and administration

• Born: Aug. 21, 1959
• Birthplace: Farmville
• Previous position: Interim director of the Virginia Lottery
• Salary: $150,000
• Education: M.B.A. from the College of William and Mary, 1987
• Family: Married to Jon

More newbies coming

Radford University President Penelope Kyle has three more top jobs to fill in her administration. She aims to have the following positions filled by at least the end of this year.

Chief information officer: Kyle has a verbal offer out to one candidate who was recommended to her by an internal search committee chaired by Senior Vice Provost Wilbur Stanton.

Chief development officer: The applicant pool has been narrowed to seven candidates. The university will invite those seven to campus for interviews in the coming weeks, and Kyle hopes to name someone by mid-October.

Chief communications officer: The search for this position is still under way, but Kyle said the university has received a high number of applications.

RADFORD -- Twenty-five years after graduating from Virginia Tech, Donna VanCleave is back in the New River Valley.

But these days, she is spending her time about 17 miles away from her alma mater. On Aug. 15, she became the vice president of finance and administration at Radford University.

"I like being a support person, making things happen," VanCleave said recently.

In her new role, VanCleave will work with RU President Penelope Kyle to lobby for more resources from lawmakers in Richmond and make sure the university is spending that money as efficiently as possible, she said.

VanCleave was chosen from 37 applicants for the chief financial position. Her salary is $150,000.

It shouldn't be hard for VanCleave to navigate a good working relationship with her new boss.

VanCleave had worked for Kyle before joining the RU leadership team. For four years, VanCleave was the director of finance at the Virginia Lottery and reported to Kyle, who had been the director there for more than 10 years. When Kyle left the lottery, VanCleave took over as the interim director for 13 months, ending in June.

Both women are aware that some might perceive VanCleave's hire as a form of cronyism.

VanCleave said she believes that concern won't be an issue for anyone in the near future, once people in and out of the university see the kind of work she does.

Kyle said she chose VanCleave because she had the right balance of experience working in Virginia and in higher education.

Before working at the lottery, VanCleave was the budget director at Virginia State University for three years and had worked on higher education budgets in the state Department of Planning and Budget for six years before that.

"I will not avoid hiring the best person just because I knew them from before," Kyle said. "And Donna VanCleave is the best person for that job."

VanCleave's relationships with the legislative staffs in Richmond will help the university better communicate its mission and how it is meeting its goals, Kyle said.

And by her own admission, VanCleave loves finance. She enjoys talking and thinking about how to make the most of the dollars that RU has.

Although she won't be fundraising for the RU Foundation, VanCleave is a member of its board. She will also help determine the proper balance of tuition and fee levels. Tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates at RU went up 12 percent this year over last year. But RU is still in the lowest third for tuition and fee rates for in-state students among the state's public universities.

"There is a fine balance between raising money and pricing yourself out of the market," VanCleave said, adding that she would have to investigate more to determine whether RU tuition is at an appropriate level now.

Beyond money matters, she has a large job ahead of her on the administrative end. In the next two years, she will help oversee the overhaul of the university's administrative computing system -- a $2 million upgrade. That system will allow the university to streamline the way it keeps student and financial records.

When she's not hard at work on Kyle's nascent leadership team, VanCleave spends time with her husband, Jon, a financial consultant who also graduated from Virginia Tech.

The couple love athletics and are looking forward to the chance to tailgate for Hokie football without having to drive all the way from Richmond anymore.