Jerry Boothby, vice president of finance and administration and employee of Guilford since 2003, will retire on June 30, at which point he will become a part-time employee of the school, working as a financial consultant. “Jerry brought light and clarity to our financial situation during his time as vice president,” said President Kent Chabotar. “He’s a people person who likes to explain numbers in lay terms to be clear.”

Guilford is the second institution where Chabotar and Boothby have both held jobs.

“One of the reasons I came to Guilford was that I liked the position,” said Boothby. “But also the president (Chabotar) and I worked together at Bowdoin.”

Boothby has spent much of his career working in higher education administration.

“I’ve been doing this type of work for 30 years,” he said.

At the start of his career with the University System of New Hampshire from 1971-87, Boothby served as associate director of the physical plant for the UNH campus for nine years, finance and budget officer for one year, and system budget manager/officer for six years.

“Originally when I started at New Hampshire I worked with facilities,” he said. “So I still sort of have a bias towards that here at Guilford.”

Boothby then worked at Cornell University in New York until 1991 as manager of the Budget Management Office until ’89 and assistant director of financial systems development for the last two years.

Both Boothby and Chabotar started working at Bowdoin in September 1991. Boothby remained on staff until 2002, and then briefly worked Elizabeth College in Pennsylvania for the 2002-03 academic year before heading to Guilford in 2003.

“Kent came down a year and a half ahead of me,” said Boothby. “I think Guilford is a unique place. I really like the community-not just the students, but the faculty, campus, and even the Greensboro area.”

Boothby has shown that his belief in the effectiveness of Quaker principles at Guilford, as well as the larger community.

“I’m a trustee for the New Garden Friends School,” said Boothby. “I’m not a Quaker, and not a parent of a student, but I really believe in the importance of education, and how it is applied through Quaker principles.”

Many of his co-workers will miss him when he steps down this summer.

“He’s one of the best people I’ve ever worked for,” said Assistant to the Vice President Kim Grandstaff. “I hate to see him go.”

To fill his current position, Guilford has begun looking at hiring options.

“We are conducting a national search for a replacement,” said Chabotar. “We have had 65 applications, including sitting CFO’s (Chief Financial Officers) from other universities.”

According to Grandstaff, who will be on the search committee, they will review applicants based on their work histories and aptitudes in addition to their ability to match Boothby’s empathetic and patient nature.

“I don’t know what to expect,” said Grandstaff. “For me, since I’m a direct report, the personality factor is there as well. It’s going to be different without him.