Mark Polatajko

Dr. Mark M. Polatajko has over 15 years of senior fiscal management experience in both government and not for profit organizations. In his role as Vice President, he provides strategic, proactive, and innovative leadership to enhance, evaluate, develop, and implement customer-driven financial system policies, procedures, and processes for the efficient and effective delivery of services to students, customers, faculty, staff, and administration. Prior to joining Wright State, Dr. Polatajko served as the Vice President of the Administration and Finance Division of Cuyahoga Community College. He also held a variety of positions with the Ohio Lottery Commission, eventually becoming the Lottery’s Deputy Director of Finance and has five years of public accounting experience with Ciuni & Panichi, Inc.

A Certified Public Accountant, Dr. Polatajko is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Inter-University Council Fiscal Officers, and formerly served as Chairperson of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges Fiscal Officers.

Dr. Polatajko graduated from the University of Akron with his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree, earned his Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Finance from Ashland University. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Education from Cleveland State University, specializing in leadership and lifelong learning. Dr. Polatajko’s research focuses on topics in public university finance; specifically, performance funding of state public higher education.

Dr. Polatajko has successfully developed several shared services models, with an emphasis on efficiency, effectiveness and financial performance. These include group procurement of electricity, enterprise print management, and road salt storage.