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Craig Short returns to JMU as assistant vice president for business s ervices

By BRIANNA THWEATT The Breeze

To start off the new year, JMU introduced a new member to its team: Craig Short, assistant vice president (AVP) for business services. Short officially began his position on Jan. 4.

Short will report directly to Towana Moore, vice president of administration and finance. As the AVP for business services, Moore said Short will work closely with dining services, the bookstore, card services, the arboretum and many other facilities on campus.

While he’s new to the position, he’s no stranger to JMU. Short completed his graduate degree in public administration at JMU (’14) after attending West Virginia University for his undergraduate degree and obtaining a Regents Bachelor of Arts (’96). Short also previously served as JMU’s executive director of facilities and construction from 2014 to 2019, where he generally oversaw the management of JMU facility operations.

Short left JMU in 2019 to pursue another job as vice president of financial and administrative services at the Virginia Community College Center headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. Short said he oversaw numerous operations there, including facilities and construction, the business office and the police department.

JMU held a nationwide search to fill the position of assistant vice president for business services. Alongside Moore, the hiring team consisted of members from the budget office, academic affairs, student affairs, athletics and faculty and management.

Before beginning her role as vice president of administration and finance in July 2022 after serving as interim vice president for six months, Moore previously served as the AVP for business services and was a part of the university’s nationwide search for a new candidate, during which Short underwent several rounds of interviews.

“I was looking for someone who obviously had experience in certain areas, someone who communicates well, who’s collaborative or shared a vision where the department could go,” Moore said.

Moore said that surprisingly, the position had “a lot more interest” than initially anticipated, making the decision hard. But, with Short having many of the requirements met, like having experience running most of the facilities listed besides a direct experience with running an arboretum, as well as having extensive knowledge of the campus and having previously worked alongside Moore, she said Short was a strong candidate.

“It’s wonderful in the sense that Craig is very competent,” Moore said. “I’m able to give him a lot of things and call him to handle some things.”

While Short said being back on campus after four years brought a familiar feeling, the people at JMU are what really make the job so appealing. He described JMU as a “nice and safe environment” where everyone’s looking out for one another — something you can’t find in many places, he said.

“I have a great affinity for the people who work here,” Short said. “You want to be somewhere where you like the people you work with and feel that what you’re doing matters, and that’s pretty rare. This is a good place to do that.”

Now that JMU has hired Short as the AVP for business services, Moore said some of the load is now lifted off her after having to work both positions for about a year. Since beginning her new position, Moore will be focusing on managing budgets, business services, human resources and various other university facilities.

Both Moore and Short said they’re looking forward to some of the upcoming and developing projects that the university has in the works, such as the renovation of Carrier Library and redesigning some of the resident halls in The Village. With the new developments, Moore’s role will entail providing the overall vision and plan for the construction and in the end, having the final approval of design and construction decisions. On Short’s side, he’ll contribute to the process by organizing the various units that lie under business services making sure that all of their roles are being accomplished.

“We will continue to work with capital, such as buildings in The Village and starting on Carrier Library,” Moore said. “On the operations side, we’re buying a new customer relations module in the information technology.”

Short said he’s most looking forward to working closely with his colleagues and is proud to be back at the university.

“I would rather be at JMU during a snow day than be at Disney World,” Short said.