Six weeks after his hiring, now-former Penn State Associate Vice President for Budget Robert Kohrman is no longer employed by the school, university spokesperson Lisa Powers confirmed Wednesday night. The confirmation comes after Spotlight PA reporter Wyatt Massey noted the university budget officer position was “vacant” on Penn State’s website this week.
Penn State named Kohrman as its associate vice president for budget and university budget officer on Dec. 19 and publicly announced his hiring on Jan. 18. Kohrman’s short tenure followed the departure of former budget officer Mary Lou Ortiz, who left Penn State in June to become the chief financial officer and vice chancellor at the University of California.
The university did not disclose the reason for Kohrman’s departure. Powers said the university doesn’t “discuss confidential personnel matters” when asked for a comment on the sudden change.
However, the university announced on Wednesday that it is changing up its finance and business unit structure. The associate vice president for budget position won’t be filled. Instead, Associate Vice President for Finance Virginia Teachey will assume those responsibilities and now hold the “associate vice president for budget and finance” title.
Kohrman arrived at Penn State with more than 25 years of work in the financial field. He’s had stops at Wayne State University, South Dakota State University, and the University of Colorado before providing consulting work through RK Consulting. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan.
Last month, Sara Thorndike, Penn State’s senior vice president for finance and business, lauded Kohrman’s experience and abilities.
“Rob will be instrumental in securing Penn State’s success and future growth,” Thorndike said in a January news release. “His tenure in higher education has demonstrated his ability to create and implement successful strategies and analyze new opportunities to strengthen financial resources. I am excited to develop new and improved budget processes with Rob to help the University achieve our goals.”
The budget office changes are among the latest shakeups in the Penn State administration since President Neeli Bendapudi’s tenure began last spring.
Vice President and Provost Nick Jones, Vice President and General Counsel Stephen Dunham, Vice President for Strategic Communications Lawrence Lokman, Associate Vice President for University Police and Public Safety Charlie Noffsinger and, most recently, Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims, have all stepped down from their positions and transitioned to other roles or left the university.
StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.
