University names Mike Volna vice president for finance; provost Croson praised as she prepares to step down

The Board of Regents on June 13, 2025, introduced Mike Volna as the university’s new vice president for finance and assistant chief financial officer. President Rebecca Cunningham said Volna has served the university since 1992 in roles including 16 years as controller and most recently as associate vice president and assistant chief financial officer. Volna’s new title was described as reflecting expanded responsibilities for stewarding the university’s financial resources.

The board also publicly thanked Provost Rachel Croson as she prepares to step down from the role of executive vice president and provost at the end of the month. President Cunningham commended Croson for leading the university through the pandemic and for hiring many current academic deans and vice provosts; Cunningham credited Croson with driving implementation of the Impact 2025 strategic plan.

Separately, the board recognized recipients of Fulbright awards and thanked Kathy Schmidlkofer for her service as president and CEO of the University of Minnesota Foundation; those recognitions were acknowledgments rather than board actions.

Ending

The board applauded the named leaders and awardees. President Cunningham and Chair Mayeron invited the recognized individuals to receive congratulations from regents at the horseshoe following announcements.