Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia’s Office of Finance and Administration, which includes nearly 1,600 employees in seven divisions, will restructure its management functions in several of those divisions effective July 1. Three of the four actions being taken to fill key vacancies are promotions for current finance and administration staff while the fourth will welcome a new face to the university campus.
“These four positions are positive developments for our management team,” said Tim Burgess, senior vice president for finance and administration. “They make good use of existing resources and personnel, offer opportunities for promotion from within, and greatly enhance our capabilities to serve the campus. All of the individuals selected are highly qualified to assume these new roles, and I look forward to maximizing the strengths they will bring and the contributions they will make to the university.”
The first two actions occur in the budget division. Ken McCollum, who for the last four and a half years has served as assistant budget director, will be promoted to senior director of the budget division. In his new position, McCollum’s responsibilities will be expanded to include all issues pertaining to UGA’s annual operating budget, as well as the day-to-day management of the budget office, departmental financial systems, and the information technology support that the budget division provides to campus. McCollum earned both his bachelor’s degree in finance and his master’s degree in public administration from UGA. He has worked for the university for 12 years and previously led the budget review office in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.
As a complement to McCollum’s promotion, Sean Rogers, who has served as the assistant director for finance and capital planning in the Office of the University Architects for Facilities Planning for the past four years, will be promoted to director of capital budgeting in the budget division. In this role, Rogers will coordinate with the Physical Plant, the University Architects Office, Environmental Safety, the UGA Real Estate Foundation, the Office of the Vice President for Research and other UGA units in regard to the allocation and management of all funds and resources that are directed toward capital needs. This move will enable UGA to assume a more “global approach to capital planning and budgeting,” Burgess said, “with well coordinated capital efforts and ultimate flexibility in project management.” Rogers earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and history from Furman University and his master’s in business administration from UGA.
Both McCollum and Rogers will report directly to Senior Associate Vice President Ryan Nesbit.
“These moves will enable Ryan, who took on the additional responsibility of overseeing the budget since I vacated that position at this time last year, to return his focus to strategic budget issues of paramount importance to the university, as well as to devote more of his time to overseeing the day-to-day operation and management of all of our divisions,” said Burgess.
The third change comes in the controller’s division. Chad Cleveland, who has served as the director of accounting services since 2000, will be promoted to associate controller. In this role, Cleveland will be responsible for the university’s financial accounting and reporting functions, including oversight of three departments: accounting, property control, and contracts and grants. Cleveland earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from UGA. He has held several other positions with the university over the past 14 years, including database programmer with the international development office and various accounting positions within the controller’s division. Cleveland will report directly to Controller Holley Schramski, as will Associate Controller Bob McGee and Bursar Lisa McCleary, who oversee the expenditure and revenue functions, respectively, that fall within the purview of the controller’s division.
The fourth position, assistant vice president for Physical Plant, replaces the former executive director position held by Chip Semerjian, who retired from the university in December 2006 after 35 years with the institution. Tom Satterly will report directly to Associate Vice President Ralph Johnson and will be responsible for developing, managing and functionally coordinating all issues in regard to the management and operations of the university’s facilities, grounds and campus infrastructure. Satterly recently retired after a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy. His numerous tours of duty at naval facilities around the world included Guam and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. He was most recently stationed at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest in Silverdale, Wash. Satterly holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Texas A&M University.