Laurence Mucciolo stepped down as senior vice president for administration and finance Friday after serving almost a decade at the university, according to a letter obtained by the News from President Joseph Aoun to faculty and staff. Mucciolo will stay with the university for the next year and serve in a “consulting capacity” according to the letter, sent Jan. 11.
In another letter released yesterday, Aoun announced John H. McCarthy will fill the position, taking effect immediately.
“I am delighted that Jack McCarthy, a person with a wealth of experience and expertise, is joining us at a time of tremendous excitement and opportunity for our institution,” said Aoun said in a statement to the News. “I welcome Jack to the Northeastern community and I look forward to working closely with him.”
University officials denied any further comment.
The senior vice president position oversees facilities, information systems, finance, public safety and human resources management functions at the university.
Student Government Association (SGA) President Rogan O’Handley said SGA was concerned with the timing of the switch because the organization was in the process of meeting with the senior vice president and other officials about student budget concerns like the renovation of Blackman Auditorium, more money for financial aid and a possible stadium complex.
“We’re wondering if the current Senior Vice President McCarthy is going to be open to working with the student body,” O’Handley said.
The SGA executive board is scheduled to have a meeting with university officials Monday and O’Handley said he hopes the new senior vice president will attend. SGA had no indication Mucciolo was stepping down, O’Handley said.
In his years at the university, Mucciolo was involved in the development of the Institutional Master Plan to create more residence halls on campus and helped increase the university’s endowment from $279 million to $650 million, according to Thursday’s letter. He also combined the audit, risk management, insurance and environmental health and safety departments to create the comprehensive risk management office.
Aoun said in the letter that Mucciolo was “primarily responsible for bringing the institution to a new level of financial health and performance.”
“I am grateful for all that Larry has done in so many areas to make Northeastern University a better place for our students as well as our faculty and staff,” Aoun said.
Also in Thursday’s letter, Mucciolo thanked the university and said he was grateful for all the opportunities he has had in the last decade.
According to yesterday’s letter, McCarthy joined the university from Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Non-profit Organizations, where he is a principal and lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government.
Previously, McCarthy was a certified public accountant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers for 37 years and led the U.S. Education and Non-profit Practice from 1998 to 2004. McCarthy received a Bachelor of Science in accounting, from Boston College and a masters in business administration from the University of Michigan.
