Interview abstracts

James (Jim) Griesemer joined the leadership team at the University of Denver in January 1990 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining the University, he had extensive public service experience. Throughout his years leading city governments, he received national and regional awards for excellence. In 1989, was named as the Outstanding Public Administrator in Colorado.

During his years in city management, his continued interest in academia kept him involved at several universities as a lecturer or adjunct professor. He was also engaged in research, having authored two books and numerous articles often focusing on fiscal strategy for public and non-profit organizations.

In his September 10, 2019 interview with Craig Woody, Dr. Griesemer describes the foundations of the University's remarkable financial turnaround in the early 1990s. He discusses the many challenges facing the University including a cumulative deficit, marginal bond ratings, falling enrollments, cash flow and liquidity issues.

He explains the strategy that enabled the University to go from near-insolvency to a solid financial condition within a period of a few years. He highlights major changes in the University's financial structure and practices including the transition to a responsibility center budgeting system that changed the financial management practices of the University. He describes the implementation and positive outcomes of an innovative financial incentive program called gainsharing and the use of a contribution margin analysis to enhance the University's financial planning.

In his September 30, 2019 interview with Provost Emeritus Gregg Kvistad, Jim Griesemer discusses his post-CFO role as the dean of DU's Daniels College of Business. During his decade as dean (1994-2004) the College saw remarkable progress. The school increased its enrollment by 60 percent, quintupled its endowment, constructed new buildings, and was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a top-50 business school and one of the top 10 regional business schools in the U.S. During the interview he describes the general strategy that allowed the Daniels College to move onto the national stage as a highly ranked college of business.

Read September 10th interview transcript.
Read September 30th Interview transcript.