In a time of budget cuts, tuition increases and financial uncertainty, a new UF administrator will be charged with managing university funds.
Matthew Fajack, executive director of financial affairs at Kent State University, was named vice president and chief financial officer in a news release Monday.
As CFO, his responsibilities will include providing analysis, planning and recommendations related to UF's finances, UF President Bernie Machen said in a memo.
Fajack will begin working Jan. 1 and will earn an annual salary of ,200,000.
Machen said Fajack would work with the entire UF administration as well as the Board of Trustees. He will also work with UF-affiliated organizations such as the UF Foundation, University Athletic Association and Shands at UF.
He will report directly to Kyle Cavanaugh, senior vice president for administration.
Cavanaugh said a search committee headed by Steve Dorman, dean of the College of Health and Human Performance, worked with Witt/Kieffer, a private search firm, in a nationwide hunt for candidates.
Before holding his position at Kent State, Fajack was the CFO for the Beta Capital Group in Dallas for 14 years. He also founded and served as the CFO for Legend Airlines, a business-class airline based at Dallas Love Field Airport.
"He met with the vice presidents and deans and came through with very strong recommendations," Cavanaugh said.
UF followed other universities, such as the University of Michigan, in creating a position to handle increasingly complex finances.
Cavanaugh also announced that Susan Blair would assume the role of chief privacy officer Nov. 1.
Blair will oversee privacy policies and protections for student records and health information. She will also manage safeguards for other confidential information, such as Social Security numbers.
