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Dear Colleagues,
I write to announce two important senior leadership appointments I am making at UConn and UConn Health.
First, Jeffrey Geoghegan, who has served as Chief Financial Officer at UConn Health since 2013, will be our first Executive Vice President for Finance and CFO at UConn and
UConn Health. This means that financial and budgetary authority for all our campuses will fall under a single senior leader rather than being divided between separate CFOs in Storrs and in Farmington.
In addition to his current oversight role at UConn Health, in this role Jeffrey will also oversee University Business Services; Financial Operations and Controller functions;
and Budget, Planning, and Institutional Research. He will be a direct report to me as president with a dotted line to the CEO of UConn Health.
Jeffrey’s performance as CFO at UConn Health over the last nine years has been outstanding. He has earned the utmost respect and confidence from his colleagues, the UConn
Health Board of Directors and our entire Board of Trustees as he has overseen what is an extremely complex, challenging, and dynamic budget at our academic medical center. I am delighted that he will bring that same acumen and expertise to our entire university
budget across all campuses.
Jeffrey will be responsible for long-range financial planning and management of the operating and capital budgets for all units. Working closely
with the me, our Provost, the CEO of UConn Health, and the entire leadership team, he will oversee and coordinate capital and operating budget development, monitoring and reporting. He will develop financial policies and plans, serve as point of contact for
external agencies and partners on financial matters, and promote the financial health and stability of the university.
As you know, budgets are much more than numbers on spreadsheets; they are a clear expression of an institution’s values and priorities. And our
highest priority and guiding principle is Students First. Effectively meeting the needs of our students on all campuses will always be our paramount goal when it comes to allocating our financial resources. Our commitment to doing all we can to effectively
invest in our faculty, research, scholarship, innovation, and the highest quality patient care is equally strong. Jeffrey will be a key leader when it comes to ensuring UConn and UConn Health stay true to these commitments.
Jeffrey has over two decades of leadership and not-for-profit healthcare and education experience. As CFO, he has had responsibility for all
of UConn Health’s financial operations including a $1.4 billion operating budget, financial planning and reporting, strategic planning, and all revenue cycle operations.
Before joining UConn Health, Jeffrey worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers in Hartford. During this time, he specialized in not-for-profit advisory
services. The budget and finance teams in both Storrs and Farmington will report to him.
The second appointment I am announcing today is that Lloyd Blanchard, who has served as our interim CFO since June 2021 and prior to that as
Associate Vice President of Budget, Planning, and Institutional Research, will assume a new role at UConn: Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Planning/Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).
In this role, Lloyd will be responsible for working with senior leadership, and in particular the Provost’s team, to lead
efforts that focus on actions and outcomes that drive student success, research, innovation, and excellence. We aspire to be among the top 25 public research universities in the country, and eligible for membership in the Association
of American Universities (AAU).
He will work with the senior leadership team to implement the university’s strategic priorities and organizational reforms.
Moreover, he will analyze and propose realignments and integration of the university’s units and provide oversight over facilities, construction, and planning operations. University Planning,
Design & Construction (UPDC) and Facilities Operations will both report to him.
Lloyd will advise and work closely with the President and Provost to define the overall strategic planning process, shepherd the university community
through that process, and monitor the execution of the strategies within the plan. He will work with the academic and research leadership teams to shape university strategy, organization, and operations in addition to analyzing organizational performance and
market trends.
He will lead the evaluation of the effectiveness of university programs, policies, and procedures and assist in setting funding priorities. He
will be a central leader in conducting financial, operational, and management studies that provide leadership with critical decision-making information, including those focused on business processes and markets, operational optimization, planning and policies.
He will develop and maintain quality performance measures and advise leadership on reducing any unnecessary burdens on university departments.
In this role, he will be essential in helping the leadership team and the board to have the clearest understanding of our operations and academic
programs as well as student, staff, and faculty needs.
I would like to thank Lloyd for agreeing to serve as our interim CFO for the last 18 months and for his willingness to take on this essential new leadership role that will
be so critical to the success of our strategic planning process, the effectiveness of the plan itself, our organizational structure and processes, and our future as a university.
Prior to coming to UConn, Lloyd served in multiple senior leadership and strategic planning capacities at numerous institutions, including the Office of Management and Budget
at the White House.
Find more about Lloyd’s professional background here.
Our objective is to inspire each person to achieve the best version of themselves to serve this community and our students. We are a destination for the future generations
of students, leaders, faculty, and staff who are ambitious thinkers, doers, creators, innovators, healers, and leaders who collaboratively discover and explore ideas that enable groundbreaking research and produce inspiring works of art for humankind.
Both appointments will be effective on Dec. 30, 2022. Please join me in thanking both Jeffrey and Lloyd for their continued service to UConn and UConn Health in these new
roles.
Lastly, I would also note that we have other senior leaders continuing to serve in their roles on an interim basis; filling these remaining roles on a permanent basis is
a top priority.
Leading with joy and love for all,
Radenka
UConn is a great university.
But it's more than that. A top-ranked research institution, with campuses and staff across Connecticut, built to inspire the global community that is UConn Nation. UConn's talented students exceed
expectations. Our expert researchers, faculty, staff, and alumni drive Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (CIE) for a better tomorrow. We fuel the State's economy and are committed to inclusivity in benefiting the greater good. This is UConn.
STUDENTS FIRST, UCONN ALWAYS. HUSKIES FOREVER.
Dr. Radenka Maric
President | University of Connecticut
Office of the President: 860.486.2337
Twitter:
@UConnPresident
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@UConnPres