Correction appendedAccording to a June 14 BrandeisNow press release the Division of Finance and Administration has been reorganized in the wake of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Apfel's resignation earlier this summer, with former Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Frances Drolette assuming the newly created role of senior vice president for finance and chief financial officer and former Vice President for Campus Operations Mark Collins filling the new position of senior vice President for administration.

The press release explains that as a result of the reorganization, there will now be two distinct reporting lines to the president, one from the administrative side and one from the financial side.

In a June 15 interview with the Justice, Senior Vice President for Communications Andrew Gully said that the decision to reorganize the Division of Finance and Administration was made, in part, because "it breaks up the responsibility a little bit [... ] it's an enormous undertaking to be responsible for both of those areas."

Collins and Drolette wrote in a joint e-mail to the Justice that the reorganization is a part of continuing efforts around the University "to consolidate operations" and utilize resources and staff effectively. "The administration and finance functions are naturally linked. We, and the administration and finance staff in each area, have always worked in unity under the EVP/COO function," Collins and Drolette wrote in the e-mail. Both Collins and Drolette also identified the continuing instability in the economy as the major challenge facing Brandeis and wrote that the University "must continue to do more with fewer resources."

In the e-mail to the Justice, Collins wrote that his responsibilities as senior vice president for administration will include "oversight of most of the Campus Operations functions that I managed before the reorganization, including dining services, facilities, annual capital projects, public safety, residential operations, and University events."

He explained in the e-mail that as a result of the reorganization, the administration area will now oversee major capital projects, human resources and Library and Technology Services. LTS will report jointly to Provost Marty Krauss and Collins.

In the same e-mail, Drolette wrote that as senior vice president for finance and chief financial officer, her areas of oversight include "the Budget, Finance, Accounting, Treasury, and Debt functions."

As a result of the reorganization, "the Procurement area has been transferred from Campus Operations to Finance, and the Investment Management function has been moved to Finance, pending the appointment of a new Chief Information Officer," Drolette wrote.

Drolette also wrote that the Planning and Institutional Research Area, a group headed by Vice President for Planning and Institutional Research Dan Feldman charged with reviewing and overseeing new construction and institutes at Brandeis will report to her as well.

Scot Bemis remains vice president for human resources and employee relations, Perry Hanson is the vice president and vice provost of Libraries and Information Technology, and Alison Svizzero is the acting Chief Investment Officer, according to the Brandeis website.

Collins and Drolette also wrote that previous experience in the EVP/COO model, a position which no longer exists, has prepared them to work effectively in the new system, which they termed "a flatter organization without losing the advantages of the linked administration and finance units, including a continued cooperative work ethic."

The press release announced that Apfel had resigned in order to pursue his doctorate in public administration.

In the press release, Apfel said, "Brandeis is in a strong financial position moving forward and I'm pleased that I was able to come in and play a role in achieving that."

He could not be reached for further comment.

Correction: The article and headline originally misspelled the given name of the former executive vice president and chief operating officer. His name is Jeffrey Apfel, not Jeffery.