Appointment of Stephen J. Agostini as Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer

Following a national search, we are pleased to share that Stephen J. Agostini has been appointed UCLA’s vice chancellor and chief financial officer, effective May 6.

A seasoned finance leader with experience across many large, complex public institutions, Agostini is currently serving as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s associate vice chancellor for finance and budget. In this role since January 2019, he is a key strategic advisor to the vice chancellor for finance and operations, while providing oversight of the university’s budget, financial reporting, treasury, debt, procurement and accounting operations. Agostini works in close collaboration with senior campus leaders, UNC Health administration and the greater campus community in strategic management of the university’s finances.

During his tenure at UNC-CH, Agostini led the university’s efforts to create its first “all-funds” budgets, encompassing fiscal years 2021–24 and totaling more than $4 billion annually. He also led efforts to maintain sufficient working capital during the COVID-19 pandemic to preserve university activities and employment, while also managing $48.2 million in pandemic relief funds. In 2020–21, Agostini and the vice chancellor for finance and operations resolved a structural gap equal to 9% of expenses in the university’s general fund, and in 2022–23, he co-authored and implemented a new allocation model for the university’s facilities and administrative (F&A) reimbursements, totaling $240 million. UNC-CH received unmodified audit opinions for the university’s financial reports during Agostini’s tenure and had its AAA rating affirmed by the three key rating agencies: Moody’s, S&P and Fitch.

Previously, Agostini served as CFO for U.S. federal agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Economics and Statistics Administration. He was also a senior finance and budget official for Arlington County, the City of Philadelphia, Milwaukee County, the City and County of San Francisco, the State of Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee. He has provided recommendations on a range of economic development issues impacting state and local governments, including plans that resulted in new baseball stadiums for the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Born and raised in New York City, Agostini earned his master’s degree in public policy from UC Berkeley, and his bachelor’s in government from Harvard University.

We want to thank the search/advisory committee members for assembling an outstanding pool of candidates for this position and for their role in recruiting Agostini. Antonio Bernardo, dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management and John E. Anderson Chair in Management, was the committee chair. Other members were:

• Miguel García-Garibay – dean, Division of Physical Sciences; senior dean, UCLA College
• Reem Hanna-Harwell – assistant dean, Division of Humanities
• Andrew Leuchter – chair, Council on Planning and Budget, Academic Senate; distinguished professor, Department of Psychiatry; director, Neuromodulation Division, Psychiatry
• Jeff Lewis – special assistant to the EVCP on academic planning and budget; professor, Department of Political Science; vice chair, Academic Personnel Department Faculty
• John T. Mapes – chair, UCLA Investment Company; partner, Aurora Capital Partners
• Pierre Ouillet – vice chancellor and chief financial officer, UC San Diego
• Johnese Spisso – president, UCLA Health; CEO, UCLA Hospital Systems; associate vice chancellor, UCLA Health Sciences

We also extend our gratitude to Yolanda Gorman, senior advisor to the chancellor and chief of staff, for her assistance with the search process.

Finally, we wish to express our thanks to Allison Baird-James, associate vice chancellor for business and finance solutions, for her service as interim VC-CFO since April 2022. In this interim role, she played a central part in helping the university acquire UCLA South Bay, UCLA Downtown and the UCLA Research Park.

Given Stephen’s significant experience in financial leadership and administration for major public organizations, we are confident that he will be an extraordinary addition to our campus leadership team. Please join us in welcoming him to UCLA and into this important role.

Sincerely,

Gene D. Block
Chancellor

Darnell Hunt
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost