University's CFO Will Transfer to Penn. State

Columbia Executive Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Albert Horvath will leave Columbia to become Pennsylvania State University's Vice President for Finance and Business this summer, it was announced on Friday.

"I'm leaving because this is a greater opportunity for me," Horvath, who received a B.S. in accounting from Penn State in 1981, said. "It's a bigger job at an institution that I'm very familiar with. The combination of those two terms is very hard to pass up."

Horvath oversaw last year's launch of Columbia's $4 billion capital campaign and the endowment's steady rise to its current level at $6 billion. Before coming to Morningside in October of 2004, he worked at the California Institute of Technology, New York University, and Carnegie Mellon.

"Columbia has a lot of very smart, very dedicated folks, and I really enjoyed working with everyone. ... I think I put together a really strong team that will carry things forward," Horvath said. "I really tried to push the financial organization to have it become more customer-centric. I think both of those things will live well beyond my departure."

In Penn State's press release, University President Graham Spanier said that Horvath's new position "was created to help us build Finance and Business to support the complex and evolving nature of the University. Through a national search, we found Al to be the ideal choice to work with other University leaders in creating Penn State's future, and to provide the highest quality support and service to the University."

"I think Al has provided leadership at a time when the University is experiencing financial growth and financial strength, continuation of its highest ratings on its bonds, and a real commitment to improving and enhancing financial operations," Columbia Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin said about Horvath's departure.

Though Horvath's successor has not yet been chosen, University spokesman Robert Hornsby said Columbia will begin a nationwide search immediately.