Nominees may include chief business officers who have made outstanding contributions over several years to the broader field of independent school business operations and have served as a leader and role model throughout the national independent school business officer community. Nominees for this award, the association's highest honor, must be affiliated with an NBOA member school.
The recipient is announced in January, and the award is presented at NBOA's Annual Meeting.
Director of Business and Finance
Newark Academy
Livingston, NJ
Sam Goldfischer has been the director of business and finance at Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey, for more than 32 years. His accomplishments at the school include campus master planning and oversight of a dozen major construction projects, all while keeping Newark Academy debt-free. He has focused closely on myriad tasks large to small, from distributing financial aid to mentoring International Baccalaureate students to interviewing dog-handlers for the school’s border collie. Goldfischer has taught senior-level electives in Holocaust and genocide studies, and economics/personal finance for many years, and is liaison to the school’s student-managed endowment committee.
Goldfischer served two terms on the NBOA Board of Directors (2009-2015) and later on the Business Officer Institute faculty (2018). He has served on many other boards, and is an active member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS), currently serving on the NJAIS Audit and NJAIS Accreditation Committees, as well as several task forces. In conjunction with the executive director, he has planned two state-wide conferences at Newark Academy and has served on several accrediting committees for NJAIS schools. Prior to his work at Newark Academy, he was in the banking industry. Cherished as a mentor by newer and experienced colleagues alike, he is guided by the adage, “When one teaches, two learn.”
Every year since 1999, NBOA has honored an extraordinary professional with the Distinguished Business Officer Award. View the award's past recipients.
The Distinguished Business Officer Award honors the legacy of Kenneth A. White, Jr., who had a passion for this field and an incurable desire to help others. He could discuss business matters anywhere, and always had extra time for problems and questions. Ken pushed himself to find ways to do things better. He was a visionary, not just for his school, but for all schools. Upon his death in 1996, speakers at his memorial services recognized him as "a man of deep faith," a "mentor," and an "inspiration," as well as a valued colleague, neighbor, and friend.
Ken held a top financial position at Davison-Elkin College, and then served for 21 years at Westminster School in Atlanta. He was a founding member of MISBO (Mid-South Independent School Business Officers), and was active in many other organizations, especially ABOIS (Association of Business Officers of Independent Schools), and also served a term on the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) Business Service Committee.
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