Mission and Margin [ provides] a practical financial guide for academic leaders who are new to an administrative role in higher education, focusing on how to make financially astute economic trade-offs and decisions even in the face of external uncertainty. * Journal of Economic Literature * With clarity and concision, Mission and Margin does a terrific job of providing a primer on university finances for academic leaders (from chairs, deans, and provosts to presidents). -- Sandro Galea | author of "Within Reason: A Liberal Public Health for an Illiberal Time" Mission and Margin constructs a clear and accessible framework for understanding the financial management of universities for those who may understand the educational mission but have limited knowledge of the subtleties that arise when accounting concepts, appropriate to for-profit enterprises, are applied to universities. -- John Y. Campbell | Harvard University This superb volume, full of lucid writing and wonderfully illustrative examples, draws upon insights from decades of academic leadership and offers an invaluable template for financial management. -- Kerwin K. Charles | dean, Yale School of Management Mission and Margin distills core principles of financial management in higher education, drawing on the authors experience at Vanderbilt University. Essential reading for administrators, trustees, policymakers, and others, Mission and Margin provides the knowledge needed to make sound financial decisions that advance the mission of higher education. -- Melissa Gilliam | president, Boston University