Meet Heather Meier: Vice President for Administration and Finance, Widener Supporter, Belonging Advocate and Philly Sports Fan

Meet Heather Meier: Vice President for Administration and Finance, Widener Supporter, Belonging Advocate and Philly Sports Fan

Widener recently welcomed Heather L. Meier to the university. She joined the university's leadership team as vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer, and came from Gwynedd Mercy University, where she served in a similar financial leadership role since 2022. Meier is a Philadelphia-area financial professional and certified public accountant with more than 15 years of experience in higher education. We asked her to share a bit about herself.

What drew you to Widener?

There are few notable reasons that Widener is a perfect fit for me.

I have a family connection with my sister-in-law who is an alumna. She did a tour overseas as a nurse after graduating from the ROTC program!

I love the locality to the city of Brotherly Love.

The institution has the long history of adapting to change and adversity with an outstanding reputation for education.

Lastly, after my interview, I was impressed with President Stacey Robertson's leadership and vision for the university.

You came to Widener with impressive credentials: two bachelor's degrees, an MBA and you are a certified public accountant. What is it about numbers, finance and management that excites you?

Learning has always been an important part of my life. Very early on in my professional career I made the decision to pursue higher education because of its mission, and its impact on young adults. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself.

Numbers have always come natural to me. It's funny though, people are quite surprised by my line of work because I'm very outgoing, which isn't always the case in my field. I think that's where the management aspect comes in. I love the analytical side and then using that to work with others to make positive change.

You've assumed a very important position for the university, and your professional history is heavily centered in higher education. Even though you're not in the classroom, how do you want your work to impact the student experience?

As noted above, I truly love being a part of a community that is a higher education institution. At the end of the day, my role at Widener is to help ensure the university is in a strong position to provide an outstanding education and overall experience to our students today, but to also improve and grow the university for future generations.

Widener strives to be a place where people know and feel they belong. Have you had any special moments yet where you felt a sense of belonging?

Perhaps not a singular moment, but this question is really important. In many ways I have been blown away by the people at Widener. I just love the vibe. The passion, the want-to, the little acts of kindness… all are so important to fulfilling the big-picture goals we have before us. I very much feel the sense of belonging, and it just motivates me that much more.

We understand you are an enthusiastic Philadelphia sports fan. What's your favorite Philly team? And has anyone ever said you look like Kylie Kelce?!

That's right. I have always loved playing and watching sports. My husband and I have tailgated before plenty an Eagles game, and we continue to let the Flyers and Sixers torment us, but if I had to choose one team it would be the Phillies. We love taking the kids to ballpark, the team is so likeable, and the postseason runs the last few years have been a lot of fun, even though we came up short in the end.

Kylie Kelce? Haha, no! But thank you. I'll say she's quite relatable in terms of being a strong career woman while also balancing raising a young family and putting up with a sports nut husband.