East Central University recently named Darrell Morrison the new vice president of administration and finance. Morrison joins the ECU family on April 3, bringing more than 20 years of experience in higher education with him.
“We are excited to add someone with Darrell Morrison’s credentials to our leadership team,” ECU President Wendell Godwin said. “Darrell is going to add his experience to our team and will be instrumental as we move forward with our budget processes and strategic plan.”
“I have been and will continue to be an advocate and spokesperson for higher education at ECU and the region,” Morrison said. “I’m looking forward to working with the team at ECU and for ECU.”
He is active with colleagues at other universities as he has served on the National Association of College and University Business Officers and on the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (SACUBO) boards.
“Interacting with my peers allows me to learn ‘best practices’ in the world of university finance and administration, which I am then able to apply to help my institution,” he said.
Morrison has worked for various universities throughout his 23 years of working in higher education, most recently as vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri. Prior to that, his he was associate vice chancellor of finance at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, senior manager for business and financial analysis at the University of Texas at San Antonio, vice president for business affairs and CFO at Texas A&M University at San Antonio, vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, and vice president for finance at Southern Arkansas University. Prior to higher education, Morrison worked in various field auditor positions at the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit in Little Rock.
Morrison earned his Master of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and attended the College Business Management Institute that was sponsored by the University of Kentucky and SACUBO. He was an accounting major at Henderson State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Morrison said he looks forward to working at ECU and the opportunity to be closer to family.
“We’ll be within a couple hours driving distance, as opposed to a 9-hour drive,” he said.