Inglewood Launches Higher Education Consulting Group to Support Colleges and Universities

Cleveland, OH – January 3, 2025 – Colleges and universities are facing some of the strongest headwinds in a generation. To help them navigate, Inglewood has created its Higher Education Services Group, a dedicated higher education consulting practice led by Sam Steinhouse with support from Cheryl Noviski.

Already at Work Across Ohio Education

The group is not starting from zero. Inglewood has provided its services to two Northeast Ohio colleges and is assisting the Ohio Department of Higher Education in assessing a third. The team is also assisting two K-12 schools. Inglewood holds a Director Level Associate Membership with the Ohio Association of College and University Business Officers.

Higher Education Consulting Rooted in Early Action

"In our work helping clients address population demographic and related financial challenges, we see the most success with higher education institutions that focus on differentiating programs and have addressed their financial issues well ahead of missed debt covenants and unrestricted endowment consumption," said Steinhouse.

It is the same discipline that drives the firm's turnaround consulting work: move early, while options are still open.

"Despite recent articles questioning the value of Colleges and Universities, they remain a critical component of our education ecosystem," said John K. Lane, Inglewood's CEO. "Our Higher Education Services Group has already made a huge difference for our clients in this space."

The Team Leading the Group

Sam Steinhouse

Sam brings more than 40 years of multi-industry financial and operational experience, spanning Arthur Andersen & Company, ownership of closely held companies, and marketing and IT roles at Progressive Insurance. He recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Operations Manager for Hawken School, where he oversaw four campuses serving more than 1,500 students. Sam is Board Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of the Cleveland Playhouse and Board Chair of Breakthrough Public Schools, overseeing five K-8 schools that serve 3,000 Cleveland public school students. He also served four years as President of the Orange Schools Board of Education.

Cheryl Noviski

Cheryl began her career in public accounting, followed by Fortune 500 industry experience. She has spent nearly 30 years in the nonprofit sector serving private educational institutions from pre-K through college, with senior-level oversight of financial operations, insurance and risk management, human resources, facilities, security, and IT. She has served as Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for two colleges and a private high school. Cheryl is a board member of Montessori Development Partnerships and has served as Treasurer of the boards of both Hershey Montessori School and Stonebrook Montessori.

About Inglewood

Since 1983, Inglewood has delivered practical business acumen to clients facing a wide range of business challenges. The firm's principals, who average 40 years each of financial and operational experience, serve clients as interim executives and full-time CEOs, CFOs, and board chairs. They also provide litigation support as expert witnesses and advise clients on business performance and strategy as well as transactions. Learn more at www.ingw.com.

Media contact: John K. Lane, CEO, Inglewood. Email jlane@ingw.com or call 216-533-5860.