U. Denver CBO Craig Woody Leads by Sharing the Load, Inspires by Building Community

Craig Woody serves as vice chancellor for finance and business at the University of Denver, and in his over-30-year tenure at the institution, he's seen a lot of change. "Half our footprint is new in the last 20 years," he says. With new infrastructure, comes new leadership, new strategic plans, and a shifting board. Woody celebrates his place in an organization that has learned to work together, to celebrate strengths of the broader team. "The role of the CBO is more about understanding the finances of the university, understanding the resources we have to pursue whatever the strategic direction is," says Woody, "and I'll tell you the truth. I feel that my role is enhanced because of the quality of people I have at a lateral level. … I'm more than happy to have a more specifically defined role because we have areas of expertise beyond what I can do, being done by people who have done it before, or can do it a lot better than I can." This week on the show, Woody shares his path from controller to CBO, along with just a few of the opportunities he's had to help grow the University of Denver in partnership with his own team. "There is nothing better than to give somebody the opportunity to present either to a standing committee of the board or the chancellor and the provost, and let them take credit for the good work that their doing."