Throughout his professional career, from his years in the healthcare industry to his career in higher education, Dr. Rush Sherman has guided himself by three core values: serve others, work hard and be happy.

With more than 30 years of experience across healthcare and higher education finance, Sherman has joined Campbellsville University’s administration as Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

“I am so grateful to be here, and especially, I think, right now, as we are in an industry that’s really challenged,” Sherman said. “I am so fortunate to be included in the future of CU! While higher education is struggling with a value identity, where prospective students are questioning the value of their education, we are positioned to advance our mission by strongly answering that question with a faith-centered focus.”

Before coming to Campbellsville University, Sherman served as Vice President of Administration, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Georgetown College. At Georgetown, Sherman led efforts to develop and execute a strategic fundraising project that eliminated $32 million of debt over a nine-month period.

“Through a lot of work through the whole team, and really with the Lord’s favor,” Sherman noted, “we successfully paid off all their debt through fundraising, really freeing them and making their balance sheet the strongest it had been in their history, which is wonderful.”

Sherman has also worked for Almost Family, Humana and ResCare. At ResCare, Sherman served as senior director of strategic planning and technology, overseeing the company’s financial information technology. In that role, Sherman also assisted in various refinancing initiatives for ResCare.

CU President Dr. Joseph Hopkins added that Sherman is widely respected in higher education across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

“In fact, many look to him as the dean of this profession in Kentucky,” Hopkins said. “We are more than fortunate to welcome Rush to the CU family, and we look forward to bright days ahead under his guidance.”

Sherman earned his Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Bellarmine University in 1992, followed by a Master in Business Administration from Bellarmine University in 1997 and a Doctorate in Education from Spalding University in 2022.

Sherman’s career began in 1992 at Baptist Healthcare in Louisville. There, Sherman was responsible for clinical educational programs and outreach to the public to educate the public about diagnosis, support and treatment for various health conditions.

Sherman’s father worked as a professor at Bellarmine University for 40 years, and it was here during his childhood that Sherman began to see the value of Christian higher education.

“I would be with him all the time on campus,” Sherman reflected, “and that’s where I got to really see the value of small private Christian education, and especially liberal arts, and what those can do in terms of building core strengths academically.”

In 2015, Sherman transitioned into higher education and joined the administration of Spalding University in Louisville as chief financial officer.

Sherman added, “And in my career, I’ve worked with people who’ve taught me how to do those things to really set them on a path towards prosperity and effectiveness in those things.”

Dr. Jason Lawson, Assistant Vice President for People and Culture and chair of the search committee, said of Sherman, “We had an incredible pool of candidates to consider. Dr. Sherman has extensive experience leading finance and operations teams at other private, faith-based institutions.

“Dr. Sherman’s experience and missional alignment perfectly matched what we were looking for in our new Vice President.”

Sherman explained the factors that motivated him to jump into the world of higher education.

“Finance, service and healthcare were the intersections of my early interest in finance,” Sherman said. “I wanted to work in healthcare to be a part of loving and serving my community. Education is another venue to love and serve. Doing this at a Christian institution is the ‘icing on the cake.’”

Sherman reflected on the three core values that have guided him throughout his professional career: serving others, working hard and being happy. He added that he has also instilled these values in his children.

“There are three things that I ask my kids to do with their careers,” Sherman said. “One is to serve other people because that’s how God made us, which is to serve one another. Secondly, it’s to work hard, because He requires that of us.

“We were built to work hard, to not be lazy, but to be industrious. And the third thing is to be happy and to be joy-filled. And I try to live that, so those are the things I try to ask myself.”

Sherman explained the factors that set CU apart, such as its Christian mission.

“When you walk across our campus, and you read the scripture that is everywhere, it is not just something we do, and it is who we are,” Sherman said. “It is our identity, so I don’t think that we can ever lose that.”

An innovative nature also sets CU apart, according to Sherman.

“We are able to educate people in the very best way, at the very lowest cost, in meeting the needs of the communities that we serve,” Sherman noted. “So that’s what I would say, is that we’re not intimidated at all about our prospects to be able to grow, not only because we’re innovative and scrappy, but because we see the opportunities where others see calamity.”

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university that offers over 100 programs including doctoral, master, bachelor, associate and certificate programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.