By Cecilia Cress and Olivia Montes
News Co-Editors
Ed Patrick was announced as Washington College’s new Vice President for Finance and Administration in an email sent on Jan. 14 email from President of the College Dr. Mike Sosulski.
According to the email, Patrick will “provide strategic and operational leadership for the institution’s financial, information, and physical resources” in his position.
Patrick is responsible for an institutional budget of $55 million and will also “direct the College’s capital renewal program and land development opportunities, provide coordination and oversight of the management of the College’s endowment…and provide functional oversight of non-financial business operations and auxiliary enterprises.”
“The focus is on the student experience,” Patrick said. “When we’re looking at your living in the residence halls, your food experience, and then your [academic] opportunities…I just want to make sure that we have the adequate resources to do that…[and] bring some fundamentals that quite a few higher education institutions lack.”
Patrick holds a Bachelor of Science in General Studies degree from Northwestern University. He then went on to receive an MS in Accounting from DePaul University in Chicago. He also completed Chemical Officer Basic Course & Military Police Advance Training while with the Department of the Army out of Fort McClellan, according to the email.
Patrick came to WC from St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC where he served as VP of finance & operations since 2018, according to the email. He also spent five years as a SACSCOC financial consultant for Silver & Associates Universities & Colleges, and also worked in Finance & Management at other colleges and universities, such as South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C., Paine College in Augusta, Ga., and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta.
“I appreciate being around high energy, highly intelligent, very principled young people — it energizes me, and I want to be able to move that forward,” Patrick said. “I want to create more opportunities here at WC for the current student [and teacher] body.”
Dr. Sosulski said it wasn’t only Patrick’s extensive experience that made him stand out as the best candidate for the position, but also his passion and dedication to his work.
“When we look beyond his successful career and list of accomplishments, it is his passion for adding value to our community and his collaborative approach that really gave him the nod as our candidate. He will undoubtedly become a strong and vocal advocate for advancing our mission with a student-first mindset,” Dr. Sosulski said.
Patrick said he has an open-door policy and wants to continue meeting and forging relationships with students to help them make the most and improve upon their College experiences.
“[I want to be] able to help and maybe pave the way for them to move forward and create a pathway so they can get through whatever they’re trying to get through,” he said.
While he is personally not particularly fond of the idea of a legacy, Patrick hopes to “create a foundation” of ways to better WC and its campus community for “the next 150-plus years.”
“It’s an honor to be here,” he said. “I’ve already seen some great opportunities that we can take advantage of as an institution…[and] I really want to truly understand [students’] viewpoints and perspectives on how we can improve WC.”
Photo by Sammy Jarrett
Featured Photo Caption: Since his official start date on Jan. 24, Vice President of Finance and Administration Ed Patrick has strived to bring a “student-centric” focus into his work.