Office of the Chancellor

Glen Nakata Selected as Vice Chancellor for Financial and Administrative Affairs

June 7, 2021

I am pleased to announce the selection of Glen Nakata as vice chancellor for financial and administrative affairs. This is the culmination of a national recruiting effort—aided by our strong internal committee and the executive search firm Isaacson Miller—to identify an individual who not only possesses the type of experience we sought to strengthen an essential facet of our operations, but also a clear understanding of our strategic plan and why this position is so important to the success of each initiative. Glen stood out among a strong group of finalists and we eagerly await his arrival on August 1.

Glen comes to Purdue Fort Wayne from the University of North Texas where he just concluded his fourth year as assistant dean for finance and administration for the College of Education. Before that, he served his alma mater, the University of Southern California, for most of a decade in roles that included senior business officer for administrative operations and director of finance and accounting for auxiliary services. During his time in higher education, Glen has worked to build partnerships among key stakeholders while encouraging a collaborative environment, which has enabled him to work closely with students, faculty, and staff to help them meet their goals. At USC, Nakata had financial oversight of the bookstores, housing, dining services, parking services, a hotel, and administrative operations.

By itself, Glen’s experience prior to transitioning to higher education would have also made him a strong contender for our open VCFAA position. Additional highlights of his professional journey include leadership positions such as chief financial officer for the Japanese American National Museum; chief financial officer and national director of finance and strategic planning for the Screen Actors Guild; manager of strategic planning and development for Warner Bros. Studios and manager of sales planning for Warner Home Video; director of finance for Columba Tristar Home Video of Sony Pictures Entertainment; manager of sales planning and acquisitions for Walt Disney International Home Video; and financial analyst for Apple.

Being of Japanese descent and coming from an immigrant family, Glen understands the importance of bringing people of differing backgrounds and life experiences together within an organization and how those new viewpoints and unique experiences can be maximized to benefit our growth as a university.

Proving that he’s also skilled in diplomacy, this USC Trojan also received an MBA from archrival UCLA.

Glen says one of his most important goals is to make sure individuals and groups he meets leave each interaction with questions answered and the information needed to make the best decisions. We are very excited to tap into his knowledge, his collaborative spirit, and officially welcome Glen to our campus community later this summer.

A special thank you to our Purdue Fort Wayne search committee, chaired by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Carl Drummond, for their successful work over the past few months.

Sincerely,

Ron Elsenbaumer
Chancellor