Brower retires after decades with MSU

MSU’s chief financial officer steps down, taking more than 30 years of history with him

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Chronicling Dave Brower’s time at MSU

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Dave Brower still remembers “the pit.”

When Brower — now the former assistant vice president, chief financial officer and controller — first began overseeing the university’s enrollment operations as the assistant controller in 1979, MSU’s class sign-up took place in the gymnasium at IM Sports-West, a place then known as “the pit.”

Brower remembers masses of students flocking to the gymnasium to wait in long lines and fill out handwritten cards requesting classes and financial aid for the upcoming semester, an often chaotic process.

With no computerized system for enrolling students in classes or distributing financial aid, Brower said the university processed forms for more than 40,000 students by hand in about three 13-hour days.

Since that time, the enrollment process — and Brower’s career — have seen some changes.

Students now are able to enroll for classes and receive financial aid online from the comfort of their dormitory, and Brower has gone from overseeing “the pit” to overseeing a large amount of MSU’s financial operations — ranging from the financing of construction projects to the development of a university-wide financial accounting system.

For Brower, those official duties end today, when he will retire after more than three decades of MSU affiliation and about ten years as assistant vice president, chief financial officer, or CFO, and controller.

During his career, Brower has earned the admiration of numerous Spartans, MSU Trustee Brian Breslin said.

“(He’s) widely respected by the campus community,” Breslin told the Board of Trustees at its October meeting.

Brower said he will look back fondly on his time at MSU and the many changes he’s seen.
“I think I’ve never been bored in this job,” he said.

“You never know from one day to the next what you’re going to be working on because this is a city with a lot of creative people.”

Visible changes
Brower’s impact on students, faculty and staff stretches between numerous academic facilities currently being built or renovated on campus.

From the still-developing addition at Wells Hall to the soon-to-be-opened cafeteria at Case Hall, every construction project receives financing through Brower’s office.

Although the MSU Physical Plant sets the actual budget after factoring in design and construction costs, Brower said his office is tasked with finding proper funding for the work.

And the sources of that funding have changed in the three decades Brower’s been at MSU.

Since the early 1980s, state contributions to higher education have dropped dramatically, and state financing for university construction projects also has declined, Brower said.

With those challenges in mind, Brower and others have worked to find possible financial solutions for new construction, ranging from debt financing to private gifts.

With most projects, debt financing — a process that involves issuing bonds for purchase to the public market to be repaid by MSU later — is one funding option the university pursues, Brower said.

Currently, the university has about $800 million of outstanding bonds, which it plans to repay during the next three decades.

In other cases — such as the still-developing Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum — the university finances portions of the project through private donations.

Prenursing freshman Stephanie Nelson often walks by the art museum, and said she’s pleased the university has taken on the contemporary art project.

“Because we’re (an agricultural school), art isn’t noticed as much,” she said.

Rising rates
When Brower first started as assistant controller at MSU in 1979, one credit hour of tuition cost $24.50, according to Brower’s office.

This fall semester, one credit hour costs $406.75, an increase Brower said is the culmination of about 30 years of federal and state budget cuts.

“It’s getting old,” Brower said of the ongoing trend of declining state aid, calling it a “constant battle.”

State and national legislators alike have argued cuts to higher education were made in efforts to balance the budget.

With the rising cost of tuition, Brower’s office is tasked with collecting tuition payments and making sure student accounts are fully paid, although his office has no control over the rates themselves or the aid MSU receives from the state.

Forging ahead
University officials now are pressed with finding new ways of coming up with funding for projects that once were free, Brower said.

Because of those challenges, Brower said his day-to-day job has been anything but boring, with new opportunities popping up by the hour.

Although Brower will step away from the university, one program he spearheaded will remain in place: MSU’s new financial accounting system, an open-source software program implemented this January known as the Kuali Financial System.

MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson said the university will miss Brower — but it might not be too long before they seek his service again.

“I know the university is going to call on him (in the coming years),” Ferguson said.

With Controller Designee Kim Bontrager — who could not be reached for comment — stepping up to fill Brower’s controller position Dec. 1, Brower said he’s confident MSU is in good hands going forward.

“I’m convinced there’s not a more dynamic institution in the world,” he said. “My best legacy is undoubtedly the people I’ve had a hand in bringing to MSU.”

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