VCU news

Virginia Commonwealth University has announced the appointment of Meredith Weiss, Ph.D., as interim vice president for finance and chief financial officer. As interim CFO, Weiss has a wide range of responsibilities, including oversight of enterprise-wide financial and business operations including accounting, budget, finance, treasury, procurement and business services.

Weiss also will continue to serve as VCU’s vice president for administration, a role she has held since 2016, in which she oversees crisis response, facilities, human resources, parking and transportation, police, real estate, safety and risk management, sustainability and technology services.

In these roles, Weiss serves as a strategic advisor to VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., and works closely with the executive leadership team and Board of Visitors to recommend financial and operational objectives, policies and practices that advance a sound and innovative financial and operating structure for VCU.

Weiss has more than 21 years of experience in higher education finance, operations and management. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she rose through the ranks to become senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration, overseeing a $3.1 billion budget with responsibilities ranging from financial, treasury and auxiliary operations to energy services, public safety and trademarks and licensing. During her more than a decade at UNC Chapel Hill, she also served as associate vice chancellor for business services and administration, as well as associate vice chancellor for campus safety and risk management. She previously held positions at the university’s law school as associate dean for administration, finance and information technology and as assistant dean for information technology.

“Throughout her career, Meredith has successfully led major, transformational mission-centric projects, developed engaged teams and led enterprise-wide financial and business operations,” Rao said. “She is a champion focused on student success and our teams that help ensure the success of our students, patients and others, as well as a dedicated scholar who skillfully navigates the administrative and academic demands inherent in running a world-class institution.”

While at VCU, Weiss served as an executive sponsor for the One VCU Master Plan, the first master site plan to align the university and health system physical campus environment with VCU’s strategic plan; an enterprise-wide capital and real estate plan that has resulted in nearly $600M and 1.8 million square feet of construction and renovations; the Great Place HR Redesign, a modernization of VCU’s human resources policy and programming designed to enhance employee recruitment and retention; the One VCU Better Together response to the COVID-19 pandemic; a new safety and well-being model to underpin crisis response, provide additional mental and emotional health resources for students and employees, and improve partnerships with campus law enforcement; and most recently, the first-ever One VCU Sustainability Plan designed to identify and achieve meaningful sustainability goals at the university and health system.

“VCU is a place unlike any other. Rams are on the move achieving national prominence as a top 50 public research institution, top 20 most innovative public university, top-producing institution for Fulbright Scholars, and a comprehensive cancer center, among numerous other achievements,” Weiss said. “It is a privilege and an honor to align and grow resources to further advance this momentum, accelerate student success and the value of a VCU degree, and drive VCU’s impact across the commonwealth, the nation and the world.”

Weiss earned a Ph.D. in information science and a master’s in accounting from UNC Chapel Hill. She earned an MBA and a master’s in information science from North Carolina Central University, as well as a master’s in instructional technology from East Carolina University and a bachelor’s in human resources from the University of Delaware. Weiss is also a certified public accountant.