Craig Kispert

Craig Kispert came to Ottawa University in December of 2021 following an almost 29-year career at Seattle Pacific University, where he served a Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the last eight years there. In that role, he had responsibilities for all financial management and investment functions of the University along with Auxiliary Services, Computer and information Services, Facilities, Human Resources, and Risk Management/Campus Safety/Legal. Prior to moving into the role of CFO, he served in a range of increasing roles throughout the financial operations of Seattle Pacific University.

Mr. Kispert has substantial experience in financial modeling, endowment investing, debt structuring and issuance, budget planning, new program modeling, software system implementation, risk management, business insurance, facility development, and staff development/supervision. In addition to his campus roles, Mr. Kispert also served on the boards of several higher education focused captive insurance entities, various committees for higher education professional associations, and an accreditation evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. He also has been a speaker at a variety of higher education related conferences for higher education chief financial and business officers.

Mr. Kispert earned a BA in Business Administration (Finance major) from Seattle Pacific University, an MBA (Management focus) from Seattle University, and became a Certified Public Account in 1991.