The New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority approved the appointment Monday of James Stephen Poole, a former director of the state’s Office of Public Finance, to head the higher-educational bonding agency.
He succeeds Roger Anderson, who left the post in July to serve as vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Centenary College. There is a 10-day period in which the governor may veto the appointment. Poole is set to begin Nov. 29, according to authority spokeswoman Sheryl Stitt.
Most recently, Poole was a senior director at the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, overseeing construction of elementary and secondary schools. He also spent 17 years in New Jersey’s Office of Public Finance, serving as its director from 1994 to 2002 when the state sold more than $20 billion of general obligation bonds, short-term notes, and state-backed debt, according to the NJEFA.
Poole has a bachelor of science degree in finance from Villanova University and a master of business administration degree in finance from Seton Hall University.
“Our clients will be well served by Jim’s vast experience in the municipal markets and knowledge of credit considerations, especially with complex financing structures,” NJEFA board chairman Roger Jacobs said in a statement. “We look forward to working with him to ensure that the financing needs of New Jersey’s colleges will continue to be met with the highest level of service.”
The authority issues debt on behalf of public and private colleges and universities throughout New Jersey. It has sold more than $12.6 billion in 447 transactions since its inception in 1966, according to the authority.
Its website indicates that upcoming debt transactions include a $32 million sale for Ramapo College that will refinance existing debt and help finance renovation of the school’s student center; a $30 million new-money deal for Fairleigh Dickinson University for library improvements and other capital needs; and a $19 million sale to refinance a construction loan for Centenary College.
