Office of Business Affairs and Interim Budget Director (July 31, 2020)
Dear Colleagues,
As I announced last month, Jeff Evans decided to step down from his position as vice chancellor for business affairs. His final day at UM-Dearborn was July 24th. While Jeff will certainly be missed, his departure has created an opportunity for me and my leadership team to rethink our organizational structure. After thoughtful discussions and consideration, I have decided to pause on filling the vice chancellor for business affairs role. For the foreseeable future, the offices of human resources, police and public safety (which also jointly reports to U-M Department of Public Safety and Security), financial services and facilities operations will report directly to me.
As with any successful organization, it is imperative that our budget process, model and decisions reflect our institutional priorities. For this reason, I am happy to announce that Leigh McGrath, director of business operations in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been appointed to serve as interim budget director. She will transition into the role during the month of August and will begin full-time on September 1, 2020.
With over 20 years of experience, Leigh has proven to be an effective manager, overseeing various facets of business activities related to administrative, research and academic units at both the Dearborn and Ann Arbor campuses. Her work in the engineering colleges on both campuses has earned her several recognitions as a leader in our university, including a nomination for the 2016 Chancellor's Staff Recognition Award, the 2013 "U Make A Difference" Award and the nomination for 2012 College of Engineering Judith A. Pitney Staff Service Career Award. I have full confidence that she will do a great job in this new position and will continue to shape the future of UM-Dearborn in a positive direction.
In her new role, Leigh will lead campus-wide budget development and planning, aligning the budgeting systems to best support our strategic needs and plans. She will also be responsible for “closing the circle” on our recently launched zero-based budget initiative and for exploring the development and implementation of an appropriate Responsibility Center Management system. This position will report directly to the chancellor and will have a close working relationship to the provost and other senior leaders on campus.
To be sure, UM-Dearborn remains on solid financial footing. I look forward to working with Leigh to ensure that we continue to offer an excellent, accessible and affordable education to our students today while capturing opportunities for tomorrow.
Domenico Grasso
Chancellor