Dear Friends,

As some of you may be aware, Dave Lawlor, our vice chancellor for Finance, Operations and Administration, and the chief financial officer at UC Davis, resigned Thursday (May 26).

During his 18 months on campus, Dave has served our institution well by working to make sure that this university remains on a sound financial footing. We are grateful for the work he has done putting in place a number of important initiatives and programs in meeting this imperative. Dave has also done a laudable job identifying new revenue sources for UC Davis and in working to ensure that our existing resources are used wisely and efficiently.

I have asked Kelly Ratliff, who has served UC Davis with distinction in a number of finance and budget-related capacities and is currently senior associate vice chancellor for Finance and Resource Management, to assume interim leadership of Finance, Operations and Administration. Kelly previously served as the interim CFO and I am confident that she will continue to move us forward on initiatives and ongoing projects that were overseen by Dave.  

During this period of transition for the university, it is important that everyone knows UC Davis is financially sound and remains devoted to sustainable excellence. We are committed to continuing to serve our region in a multitude of ways and have no intention of slowing down in providing access to a high-quality education for thousands of California students. I will be consulting with my leadership team and all appropriate stakeholders to determine our best approach to identifying permanent leadership of this vital division.

At the same time, progress that people have seen over the past several years regarding the university’s dynamic research enterprise and in its collaborations with regional communities and other partners remains at full throttle, ensuring that that UC Davis continues to be the vital and outstanding public research university this region and the state of California have come to depend on and value.

Sincerely,

Ralph J. Hexter
Acting Chancellor, UC Davis