Michael Masch

Michael J. Masch was a financial governance leader who worked to design and balance budgets for the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, and School District of Philadelphia as well as serving in executive financial management roles for the University of Pennsylvania, Manhattan College and Howard University.

Early life and education Masch was born October 14, 1950, adopted as a child to Jewish parents, and raised in a rowhouse in Southwest Philadelphia graduating from Central High School in 1968. After high school he attended Temple University for four years majoring in urban studies but left just before graduation. and was later a community organizer with the Northwest Interfaith Movement. when he obtained his master’s degree in government and public administration from the Fels Institute of Government at Penn and in 1992 became the City of Philadelphia’s chief budget director under then Mayor Ed Rendell.

In 2003 Masch took a leave of absence from his now post as vice president of budget and management at the University of Pennsylvania to take the role of Secretary of the Budget offered to him by newly elected Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. Rendell cited his performance as Philadelphia budget director where he turned the city budget deficit into a surplus.

While Masch helped restore the Philadelphia School District to balanced and surplus budgets and restructured long-term debt during his tenure, he was criticized for failing to overcome budget cuts from the state. The governor at the time Tom Corbett proposed disproportionate cuts in state education to the Philadelphia public school system. It was during this time a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter noticed that Masch owed $8,350 in back taxes, which Masch paid and said that he hoped he set an example for others who found out they owed back taxes. In 2012, the School Reform Commission overhauled its leadership structure which led to Masch leaving his role that year amidst a forecasted $312 million shortfall.

In 2013, Masch was appointed vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Manhattan College in New York City where he served until 2015 when he was recruited to Howard University in Washington, D.C. As the vice president and chief financial officer at Howard he helped the university achieve greater financial stability.

Personal life and death Masch met his wife Rachel Falkove when they were both students at Temple University and were both active in Jewish Community. Former governor Ed Rendell said he was an impactful public servant for the city, the state and the school district who worked to not only save taxpayers money but also to make people's lives better. Howard University president Wayne A. I. Frederick noted that Masch tackled difficult challenges while doing so in a selfless manner for the good of others.