MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University will welcome new vice president and chief financial officer Chris Kabourek to the senior management team on June 1.
He was introduced at the WVU Board of Governors meeting on Friday.
Kabourek brings nearly three decades of fiscal experience to Morgantown and most recently served as the senior vice president for administration and planning at The Ohio State University. There, he led one of the university’s largest administrative portfolios, spanning public safety, information technology, campus planning, facilities, real estate, and major capital projects.
His responsibilities included providing executive oversight for more than $1 billion in active construction and capital work, helping to strengthen the institution’s public safety strategy. He recruited a nationally recognized chief information officer from a peer Big Ten institution and partnered with Wexner Medical Center leadership on readiness and activation planning for a new $2 billion university hospital during his tenure.
“In Chris, we’ve found a creative, dynamic, forward-looking, and solutions-focused CFO who is steeped in the workings of large, public, flagship research institutions, like West Virginia University,” WVU President Michael T. Benson said.
“To advance the university’s mission, Chris will provide critical strategic vision, financial stewardship, and operational oversight in the management of our financial health, facilities, technology, and operational infrastructure.”
The WVU Division of Finance includes strategic planning and analysis, budget planning, institutional accounting, reporting and analysis, payroll, procurement contracting and payment services, risk management and insurance, tax services, and treasury operations.
Kabourek will also be charged with managing Information Technology Services and Facilities Operations. Those duties encompass units responsible for transportation and parking, facilities maintenance, environmental health and safety, roads and grounds, custodial services, construction, real estate, and sustainability across the Evansdale, Downtown, and Health Sciences areas of the Morgantown Campus.
“The West Virginia University mission is too important for anything less than clear priorities, strong support for its people, and a commitment to investing in the work that matters most,” Kabourek said.
Kabourek is a native of Nebraska, a first-generation college student with more than 27 years of management experience in the University of Nebraska system.
“West Virginians and Nebraskans share so many of the same values—common sense, hard work, accountability, high expectations, and getting things done,” Kabourek said.
“As a first-generation college graduate, I’ve seen firsthand how higher education can change the trajectory of a life, and I believe deeply in the essential role land-grant, public research universities play in serving their states, expanding opportunity and improving lives.”
In the University of Nebraska system, Kabourek held numerous positions, including interim president and senior vice president and chief financial officer.
As interim president, Kabourek closed a budget gap of more than $40 million, delivered a balanced budget to the incoming president, maintained strong relationships with policymakers and external stakeholders, and launched the Presidential Scholars Program, a full cost-of-attendance scholarship initiative developed to help the university target top in-state students.
He also launched Nebraska Promise, a tuition-free access program for thousands of low- and middle-income students, and created new pathways to retain high-achieving students in Nebraska.
Kabourek has a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a master of business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“I’m excited to get to work with President Benson, incoming Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland, members of the Board of Governors, and other senior leaders and campus partners to help ensure West Virginia’s resources are aligned behind its priorities, its momentum continues to grow, and its future reflects something all West Virginians can be proud of,” Kabourek said.