By Julia Shands 

ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Jason Tolbert, formerly the chief financial officer at Ouachita Baptist University, has been named the university’s vice president for finance effective June 1. 

“Jason has been a key partner in our university-wide journey to make Ouachita’s mission more viable financially,” said Dr. Ben R. Sells, Ouachita’s president. “Ouachita is financially stronger than at any time in the past two decades, and Jason’s leadership has been instrumental. His new title also reflects the additional responsibilities he’s assumed during his tenure.” 

These include overseeing Ouachita’s budget and coordinating budget audits, stewarding the university’s endowment and supervising several administrative areas including business services, human resources, dining services, strategic projects, health services, student financial services and the campus bookstore, post office and print shop. 

A native of Wynne, Ark., Tolbert earned a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Ouachita and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is a Certified Public Accountant and served as controller for the Arkansas Baptist Foundation, as an associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, as a staff accountant for Alltel Information Services and on the staff of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council before becoming Ouachita’s CFO in 2015. 

Tolbert was recognized twice during the 2021-22 school year for his work as CFO. He was selected during the fall as a finalist for the 2021 “Arkansas Business” CFO of the Year award in the education category and was named in the 2022 “Arkansas Money & Politics” C-Suite in the magazine’s March issue. 

“Like most people in finance, I am used to working behind the scenes,” said Tolbert. “The recognition is humbling.” 

Tolbert was included in the Oct. 18 edition of “Arkansas Business”and attended the CFO of the Year Awards celebration held in November in Little Rock, Ark.  

“The best part of the award for me was having a full table of my friends and colleagues there to support me,” said Tolbert. “That meant more to me than the award nomination.”  

Tolbert was among 80 executive-level managers in Arkansas honored with a place on the “Arkansas Money & Politics” C-Suite list this spring. 

“Getting to be Ouachita’s vice president for finance is my dream job,” said Tolbert. “I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing. We have the best students in the state and getting to serve them is such a privilege.”