Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings

Senior Vice President & CEO, Howard University

Vazquez-Skillings joined Howard University in July 2025 as their Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer bringing extensive experience in financial and administrative leadership within higher education and State government to her current role.

Prior to her current position, she served as Vice President for Finance and Administration at Oberlin College for seven years, where she was instrumental in developing financial policies, strategic budgeting frameworks, and operational efficiencies that align with institutional priorities as part of the One Oberlin initiative, including leadership for the Oberlin College Sustainable Infrastructure Program (SIP) which led Oberlin College to achieve their carbon neutrality goal in 2025. The SIP was a multiyear conversion of a 100-year old steam system to a geothermal system funded through certified Climate Bonds. Prior to serving at Oberlin, Vazquez-Skillings worked as the Vice President for Business Affairs at Otterbein University for eight years, where she oversaw finance and accounting, budget planning and management, risk management, and facilities management and planning. During her tenure, her key accomplishments included making improvements to investment management, restructuring institutional debt, and implementing administrative technology systems. Prior to her time at Otterbein University, Vazquez-Skillings served as the Assistant Vice President for Budget Planning and Analysis at Ohio University from 2007-2010, where she had management responsibility for the university’s $625-million operating budget. Earlier in her career, she worked for the State of Ohio in both the Office of the Governor and the Office of Budget and Management where she oversaw the multi-billion dollar K-12 and higher education operating and capital budget planning, including development of the state’s Rebuild Ohio initiative for school building construction. From 2014-2018, she served as a member of the Ohio Board of Education and chaired various Board committees. She is a graduate of Kenyon College and the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.