Lorraine Arvin, Reed’s new vice president and treasurer, arrived at Reed four weeks ago. She comes during the last semester of Ed McFarlane’s 41-year term in the position, and will work alongside him for the remainder of spring. After McFarlane announced last year that he would be retiring, a search committee chose Arvin as his successor.
Arvin comes to Reed from the University of Chicago, where she served as Associate Vice President of Finance and Administration and Treasurer. Before working at the University of Chicago, Arvin was the Vice President of Finance and Operations at the Latin School of Chicago, where she first learned of Reed when students applied. She made sure to look up a former student’s thesis when she arrived.
Arvin explained that she had wanted to move west for a while, so she feels fortunate that the opportunity to work at Reed opened up. “I wanted to engage in outdoor activities as part of a lifestyle, not just on vacation,” Arvin says. She looks forward to being a part of the community for many years to come. “Continuity is important. I plan to do my best to provide long-term stewardship,” Arvin says.
For the past four weeks that Arvin has been at Reed, she has been busy familiarizing herself with the different areas of the college that she will be overseeing, learning about Reed’s investment portfolio, the college’s financial model, and its financial history. Arvin has the advantage of being able to learn firsthand from McFarlane how to do the job during this semester.
Arvin is also working on getting to know the people involved around campus. Besides meeting with various campus managers, she has been getting to know students and faculty through her involvement in strategic planning. She was also present at the meeting held between student group Fossil Free Reed and trustees last week, in which students presented their campaign to divest the college from fossil fuels.
“Students have framed many of the issues very well,” Arvin says of the divestment campaign. “It’s complicated by the practicality of implementation.” She noted that there are other ways of making a difference than divestment.
Many different areas of campus will ultimately report back to Arvin, as she is responsible for overseeing their finances. It is her job to determine the safety risks of activities by these groups and if it is in the interest of the college to support them. Arvin explained her approach: “No one knows the risks as well as those involved with the activity itself. Students, offices can provide the best risk assessment. The more people you have in the conversation the better.” She added, “Just because something is risky doesn’t mean you don’t do it.”
But Arvin also acknowledged that the reputational risks to the college could be much broader, in that certain activities can effect how people see Reed. This in turn can mean a financial risk to the college, as Reed receives money from the government as well as impressionable applicants.
“Reed knows who it is,” Arvin says. She says her challenge lies not in how much information she knows, but in understanding the culture, and the people who make up the Reed community.