Beverly Shuford knows that success and doing important work doesn’t necessarily mean being out in front and receiving accolades, and that’s the attitude she plans to bring to the University of Houston-Victoria as a new vice president.

“I find success in being behind the scenes, enabling others to succeed and removing barriers,” Shuford said. “My leadership style focuses on accountability, trust but verify, empowerment, and support and encouragement of my direct reports and teams. With professional business and finance teams, I have found that a ‘thank you’ for a job well done is powerful and welcomed.”

Beverly Shuford

Shuford will join UHV on June 22 as the university’s new vice president for administration and finance. She will be taking the reins from the current vice president, Wayne Beran, who plans to retire that same month after working at the university for 32 years.

“UHV has been fortunate to have a competent, dedicated financial expert like Wayne Beran at the helm for the past three decades,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “I can’t say enough about all the great things Wayne has done to help the university grow. Now, as he prepares to retire, we are looking forward to bringing Dr. Shuford, another talented professional, in to keep that legacy of success and growth moving forward.”

Bob Glenn

Shuford is coming to UHV from University College Cayman Islands, where she serves as vice president of business and finance. She started her current role in February 2021. Before then, she held various administrative leadership positions, including vice chancellor of administrative services at the University of Alaska Anchorage, associate vice president of budget and analytics at University of North Texas, vice president of business and finance at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University and several finance-related roles in the Texas Tech University System.

In addition to her work in higher education, Shuford has worked as a certified public accountant, a tax accountant and as a senior financial analyst. She is a licensed CPA and a certified fraud examiner. She holds a doctorate in higher education administration as well as a Master of Science in accounting and Bachelor of Business Administration degrees in accounting and finance, all from Texas Tech University.

“I am so excited to join UHV’s team,” she said. “The university is delightful, and I’ve enjoyed meeting everyone during the review process and getting to know the university. My time in the Cayman Islands has been wonderful, but now it’s time to come home to Texas.”

Shuford’s experience in working with universities has included some institutions that struggled with severe budget cuts. She plans to bring that focus on doing more with what a university has to UHV to help the university stay true to its mission and continue making strategic investments while spending wisely.

“No university has enough funds to do all the things it needs and would like,” she said. “Even universities that are growing need guidance in how they spend the new money that is coming in. I bring insight that includes a focus on compliance for accreditation and government bodies as well as experience in helping a university accomplish its goals with whatever resources are available.”

Although UHV is a comparatively young school, the university has some great traditions and has goals to grow in exciting ways, Shuford said. That is something she is looking forward to working toward in the days to come.

“I’m excited to become part of the UHV family and learn about the campus, its students and the community,” she said. “From what I see, there’s so much promise and potential in UHV, and I want to be involved in bringing those dreams to life.”