Senior Vice President
Senior Vice President and Treasurer
Message from the Senior Vice President and Treasurer
The division of Finance and Administration is organized and operated to provide premier service to the university in the stewardship of its human, physical, financial, technological and informational resources. The staff members of Finance and Administration are among the most talented and dedicated professionals in higher education. Learn more about Finance and Administration >
Biography
Dr. James Watters is Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration and Treasurer. He oversees the activity of over 880 full-time employees and 1,500 student workers. He is responsible for administering the university’s annual $1.1 billion operating budget and $337 million capital budget; $1.6 billion endowment and working capital portfolios; and $400 million public debt portfolio. Dr. Watters is responsible for the departments within the Division of Finance and Administration.
He is vice chair of RIT’s Global Delivery Corporation which overseas RIT’s international campuses located in Zagreb and Dubrovnik, Croatia; Pristina, Kosovo; Dubai; and China. He holds the position of chairman of the RIT Croatia Board of Trustees and trustee for RIT Dubai’s Board of Trustees.
Dr. Watters serves on several non-profit and for-profit boards, including the New York Kitchen, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Broadstone Net Lease Board of Directors, and Canandaigua National Bank Board of Directors.
Dr. Watters came to RIT from the University of Pittsburgh, where he spent his academic and previous professional years and earned a BS, MS, and Ph.D.
Campus Aesthetics Committee
The architecture of RIT is characterized by a high degree of recognized design excellence, and was purposefully designed in a consistent vocabulary of architectural form.
It is imperative that any proposal to change or add to the campus environment be subject to close analysis and regulation.
It is the role of the Campus Aesthetics Committee to fulfill this responsibility in an advisory role to the Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration.
In the News
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October 13, 2023
![a balcony under construction.]()
Saunders College of Business nears completion of massive building project
RIT business students and faculty have experienced a number of major enhancements to Max Lowenthal Hall since the start of the fall semester, as the home of Saunders College of Business nears completion of a multi-million dollar expansion and renovation project.
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October 12, 2023
![college students walking past a lawn with the letters R I T spraypainted on it, with two tiger paws on either end.]()
The path to affordable higher ed
The Rochester Beacon talks to James Watters, senior vice president and treasurer, about higher education costs.
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September 21, 2023
![collage of 10 winery, cidery, and brewery logos.]()
Brick City weekend features RIT Alumni Oktoberfest Oct. 14
Alumni brewers, winemakers, and cidermakers from 10 businesses will be on hand to answer questions and provide samples at the second annual RIT Alumni Oktoberfest on Oct. 14.
Signatory Authority
Visit this page for information: Signatory Authority