John Gruppo Representing NJIT to Higher Ed Biz Management Organization

It's common for the best NJIT students and faculty to receive accolades in their fields, but the latest recognition for Highlander success was awarded to a university finance leader.

The honor went to John Gruppo, director of budget planning and analysis, for his selection into the Emerging Leaders Program of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, or NACUBO.

NACUBO is a non-profit organization founded in 1962 which represents business officers from 1,700 schools across the country. Their goal for the Emerging Leaders Program, which is in its second year, is to help university financial managers learn the latest trends, understand the importance of cross-campus relationships and generally make the best choices that can ripple across their respective communities, officials said.

Applicants were asked to demonstrate a commitment to furthering their careers in higher education finance and have high potential for career advancement. “We look forward to helping these exceptional business officers as they prepare to take on greater responsibilities at their institutions," said Randy Roberson, Vice President of Leadership Development at NACUBO.

Gruppo joined NJIT six years ago and said his participation in the program, which includes 67 representatives from 55 institutions this year and runs from September through April, will ultimately help everyone at the university. For example, NACUBO committees can influence government higher education policies at state and federal levels. He'll have the opportunity to join such committees and to network with executives at similarly positioned universities.

Gruppo said his interest lies in financial policy development, best practices and post-pandemic budgeting. He said NJIT is similar in these regards to Drexel University, Rutgers University, the University of Buffalo and University of Texas-Arlington. The latter is where NJIT President Teik C. Lim worked before recently making the jump to Newark.

Gruppo said his department is currently working on a redesign of the university’s budget model. "This new model will allow for superior stewardship of funds across campus through better alignment of financial and operational responsibility, enhanced use of data, and greater transparency in budget decision making and resource allocation, along with incentives for academic entrepreneurship through revenue sharing," he said.

About 90% of the university’s operating budget comes from either tuition and fee revenues paid by students and families or through state appropriations supported by taxpayer dollars, “So everyone in the department strives to be the best possible stewards of university resources,” Gruppo said.

Gruppo also noted that his office collaborates with finance professors from NJIT's Martin Tuchman School of Management and also provides opportunities to student interns, such as Abayneh Charles, a senior accounting major from Maplewood who is helping develop the new budget model.