GREENEVILLE – A certified public accountant with extensive fiscal leadership experience and a 20-year career in higher education has been named Tusculum University’s vice president of finance and chief financial officer.
Benita Bare
Benita Bare, who served in multiple high-level financial positions at Emory & Henry College, is responsible for strategically planning, implementing, managing and controlling all of the university’s financial-related activities. She advises Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president, and the Board of Trustees on the university’s finances and serves as a member of the institution’s Executive Cabinet.
Bare joined the Tusculum family Monday, March 1, but she has another connection to the university. One of her daughters earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Tusculum and now teaches fifth grade in Morristown. Bare said she is familiar with the Tusculum campus and the way it operates.
“Benita is an outstanding financial professional who understands the strengths of a faith-based higher education institution,” Dr. Hummel said. “With her background in multiple elements of finance, she will hit the ground running and play an important role in helping us achieve our mission. Her collaboration with other cabinet members and leaders throughout the university will produce excellent results.”
Bare most recently served as chief operating officer at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Virginia.
From 2000 to 2020, Bare held positions of increasing responsibility at Emory & Henry, including associate vice president for business and finance for eight years. During that period, she also assumed additional duties as interim chief financial officer for 1 ½ years. She began her service at the college as controller for five years before rising to finance director for another five years. Her final role was senior program administrator and business adviser to the president.
At Emory & Henry and the law school, she was an adjunct professor, teaching courses such as principles of accounting, auditing, individual tax, managerial accounting, business ethics and accounting, finance and auditing for lawyers.
Bare was also a financial reviewer for on-site and off-site committees that were involved in applications for reaffirmation of accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Before transitioning to higher education, Bare worked for The Pittston Company in Lebanon, Virginia, for 12 years. She served as senior tax accountant, tax supervisor and manager of taxes for the minerals division of the coal mining company. Earlier in her career, she worked for the Commonwealth of Virginia as an auditor and as an accountant for two accounting firms.
“Tusculum is an excellent university with tremendous faculty and staff members who are dedicated to equipping students to be career-ready professionals,” Bare said. “As the first higher education institution in Tennessee, Tusculum has a proud tradition of expanding the world of opportunities for students. I am thrilled to be at Tusculum and excited to partner with my colleagues at the university to serve our students in a caring Christian environment.”
Bare has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and business, with a concentration in accounting, and a Master of Arts in education, with a concentration in English and language arts, from Emory & Henry. She also holds a Master of Science in accounting from Liberty University. She is a chartered global management accountant with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
For more information about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu.
Note: The photo of Benita Bare is courtesy of Appalachian School of Law.