AUSTIN, Texas Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Hegarty will leave his position at The University of Texas at Austin after 14 years to become the executive vice president and chief financial officer at the University of Michigan.
His last day on campus will be Feb. 26. He will begin at Michigan on April 6, pending approval by Michigan’s Board of Regents this Thursday.
“Few people in our university’s history have served the campus with as much dedication and honor as Kevin. He will be sorely missed and will always be a great friend,” said President Bill Powers. “Kevin’s love for the Longhorns is exceeded only by his accomplishments improving the university, making us one of the most productive and efficient campuses in the nation and leading us through very challenging budget years.”
Associate Vice President for Finance Mary Knight will serve as interim CFO.
Hegarty received both his bachelor’s degree in business administration and his master’s degree in professional accounting from UT Austin. He held leadership positions in financial affairs in the private sector, including with Dell Inc., Associates First Capital, Trammell Crow Co. and PricewaterhouseCoopers before returning to UT Austin as CFO in 2001.
Since then, he has overseen the university’s finance, budget, real estate, information technology, open records, payroll and purchasing. He has worked successfully to help faculty members obtain research grants and made strategic investments in academic and research initiatives.
Since 2013, he also has led President Powers’ efforts to improve the efficiency of administrative operations and has played a leadership role in establishing the Dell Medical School and a proposed medical innovation district in Austin. And he has presided over a major effort to modernize the university’s administrative systems.
At Michigan, Hegarty will oversee U-M’s investments, finance, human resources, facilities and operations, and information technology.
“Mr. Hegarty is strongly committed to the role of public universities and brings a valuable combination of private sector and public higher education experience to the appointment,” said Mark Schlissel, president of the University of Michigan, in his recommendation to the regents to hire Hegarty. “I am confident he will serve our university well in meeting the challenges ahead.”