As top finance officer Ann McCorvey finishes up half a decade at GW, colleagues said she has left her mark as a leader during some of the University’s most trying financial times.

Faculty who worked and will work with McCorvey said she oversaw the rollout of policies that helped GW recover from a loss of revenue from a significant drop in graduate enrollment in 2014. McCorvey, who will serve as the next CFO of Davidson College in North Carolina, said GW was her first step into higher education finances after a career in “corporate America” – and she has not looked back.

“My parents made education a priority, and I could see the difference education had made in my life and wanted to be a part of helping others receive that same benefit,” McCorvey said in an email. “GW has been a great place to begin the higher education phase of my career, now I want to take the opportunity I was provided at GW and join the Davidson leadership team.”

She said her last day at GW will be the end of the month, adding that her role in developing and implementing the University’s five-year budget recovery plan was a “career highlight.” She said the colleagues, alumni and students she met during her time at GW “inspired me and helped me believe I was achieving my goal of making a difference.”

She declined to say what the most challenging aspect of her time at GW was and how the state of GW’s finances has changed since she arrived. She also declined to say what the most important qualities are for the next person who takes over her role and what challenges they will face. She declined to say what she hoped to finish before leaving GW.

“Ann has played a significant role in our organization, and she will be missed,” University President Thomas LeBlanc said at a Faculty Senate meeting Friday.

Davidson College President Carol Quillen said McCorvey improved the planning processes at GW and saved University dollars during her short tenure. McCorvey’s “strategic vision” and skill at negotiating will serve her in her new role, Quillen said.

“Ann is the kind of leader we need to help expand the experiences that prepare our students to lead and serve in the world that awaits them,” she said in an email.

McCorvey also oversaw the annual review of employee benefits and negotiated health care benefits with the appointment, salary and promotion policies committee on the Faculty Senate.

Joseph Cordes, the chair of the Faculty Senate budget and fiscal planning committee, said McCorvey was pivotal in creating a new budget model allowing officials to see the costs and benefits of different administrative decisions, which they hadn’t been able to do previously.

“It was really hard to figure that out before, and it’s much more transparent now,” he said.

When graduate enrollment dropped unexpectedly five years ago, McCorvey worked with faculty and administrators to create a five-year recovery plan, prompting rounds of budget cuts. But GW’s finances have bounced back faster than expected, and the University has operated on a multimillion-dollar surplus for the past two years.

“She’s one reason we got out as fast as we did,” Cordes said.