President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Tricia Serio announced an organizational and leadership restructuring in the areas of finance, planning and budgeting aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of these areas’ service to the University community. The changes, which take effect Tuesday, Jan. 16, come after an external review determined a unified organization will better serve faculty and academic personnel, as well as staff and students.

The newly configured Office of Finance, Planning and Budgeting combines 91Ě˝»¨Finance with the 91Ě˝»¨Office of Planning and Budgeting. The UW’s payroll department will also move out of Information Technology and into Finance, Planning and Budgeting.

This new organization will be led by Sarah Norris Hall, who was named senior vice president and chief financial officer. Reporting to Hall will be Jason Campbell, the UW’s new vice president for Finance & Budget Strategy and deputy chief financial officer and Jessica Bertram, who will be vice president for University Business Services. Previously, finance and business services fell under Vice President Brian McCartan, who is retiring. Also reporting to Hall will be Erin Guthrie, associate vice provost for Institutional Analysis and University Data Officer, and Jed Bradley, executive director for Planning, Policy and State Operations; both functions were part of Planning & Budgeting.

The changes come after a comprehensive review of university functions identified the need to support broader finance needs, including working toward an integrated finance and planning strategy across the university and supporting and evolving new business processes that are part of the Finance Transformation program. The review also recommended working with units to provide training and resources to adapt to the changes. Importantly, the review noted that the UW’s peers had long ago aligned finance functions and budget planning operations under one leader.

“These organizational changes are designed to increase efficiency, which will both improve how we serve our faculty, staff and students and make us better stewards of the resources entrusted to us,” said 91Ě˝»¨President Ana Mari Cauce. “I’m grateful to all of the talented 91Ě˝»¨leaders who are stepping into new roles as part of this restructuring.”

Hall, who has served as a vice provost of the Office of Planning and Budgeting since 2018, said the new organization will allow the university to better support students, faculty and staff.

“I am excited for us to pool our expertise, efforts and creativity as a new organization and build on our work in service to a great public university that is deeply committed to its student access, excellent teaching, public service, discovery and health missions,” Hall said. “Our respective offices often sought to answer the same questions, with different data, and methods. By integrating, we seek to bring value to the UW’s leadership, faculty, principal investigators and staff by fully utilizing expertise and the system investments we have made through Finance Transformation. We will build on our deep commitment to serving the University through this integration.”

One of the priorities for this new organization remains stabilization, then optimization of Workday Finance. An area of emphasis, Hall said, is to work closely with UW-IT and the Office of Research to provide researchers at the 91Ě˝»¨a smoother and simpler setup and budget management process for grants. That includes integrating SAGE data into Workday, simplifying award setup and budget management processes, and collaborating with Workday to address sponsor invoice issues and defining clear award closeout processes to improve the efficacy of these tools for principal investigators and research administrators.

Hall has worked at the 91Ě˝»¨since 2009. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound and a master’s degree in higher education administration from the Teachers College at Columbia University.

Campbell joined the 91Ě˝»¨in 2017. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in accounting from California State University, Sacramento.

Bertram joined the 91Ě˝»¨in 2009. She received her bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University and a master’s degree in Clinical Informatics & Patient Centered Technologies from the UW.

Guthrie joined the 91Ě˝»¨in 2014, first on the 91Ě˝»¨Bothell campus. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Providence College and master’s degrees in Sociology and Data Analytics from University of Warwick and Southern New Hampshire University respectively.

Bradley joined the 91Ě˝»¨in 2013. He received both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in higher education leadership and policy studies from the UW.

Contact: Victor Balta at balta@uw.edu.

The Northwest Mountain MSDC is a Washington state nonprofit established in 1978 to aid in the growth and development of minority business enterprises (MBE’s). They provide MBE certification, MBE development, corporate services and an executive scholarship to support supplier diversity. At the Northwest Mountain MSDC 40th Anniversary Breakfast on October 10, the 91Ě˝»¨was presented with an award to recognize their 27-year involvement with the council.

“We couldn’t be more proud to partner with the Northwest Mountain MSDC to facilitate the growth and development of minority-owned businesses,” said Barbara Wingerson, associate vice president for 91Ě˝»¨Finance & Administration.

The 91Ě˝»¨partners with Northwest Mountain MSDC through the Business Diversity Program and the Foster School of Business Consulting and Business Development Center. The Business Diversity Program (BDP) supports the University’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by encouraging the 91Ě˝»¨community to consider small, local and diverse businesses when sourcing and purchasing goods and services. Working collaboratively with Procurement Services and Capital Planning & Development, BDP connects buyers with diverse suppliers, and provides guidance and networking opportunities for companies who want to do business with the UW.

For more than 20 years, the Consulting and Business Development Center has accelerated student careers while growing businesses owned by people of color, women and others in under-served communities. Ten years ago the Center partnered with the Northwest Mountain MSDC to launch the Minority Business Executive Program as the first program west of the Mississippi River to focus on growing minority-owned businesses to be strategic partners in corporate supply chains.

“Businesses grow when they have access to contracting opportunities and access to management education that can support their growth. The Northwest Mountain MSDC understands that by combining their ability to connect minority-owned businesses with government and corporate contracting opportunities and our ability to improve the leadership and management of minority entrepreneurs we are able to build wealth in communities of color and create jobs where they’re needed the most,” said Michael Verchot, director of the Consulting and Business Development Center.

###

McCartan’s portfolio at the 91Ě˝»¨will include leadership of many of the central business services of the university, namely the Office of the Controller, Treasury Office, Enterprise Business Services and the Finance Transformation Program.

“Brian brings a wealth of diversified and highly relevant experience in the public sector to this important administrative position,” Scott said. “His prior work makes him well-suited to lead the finance team, oversee our cash management and help us to transform and adapt to new technologies.”

At Sound Transit, McCartan developed the financial plans for the $90 billion Sound Transit 2 and 3 programs. He also led the development of the agency’s budget and financial systems to support the build-out of the regional high-capacity transit system.  He was also responsible for the information technology, risk management and asset management departments at Sound Transit.

Prior to Sound Transit, McCartan served as debt manager at the City of Seattle, financing the capital programs for the city and its utilities, and as an international economist at the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C., helping administer U.S. international monetary operations.

McCartan graduated from the  91Ě˝»¨with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science. He has a master’s degree in international relations (finance and economics) from Yale University.