VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

Virginia Commonwealth University today announced the appointment of Karol Kain Gray as vice president for finance and budget, effective May 2.

As VCU’s chief financial officer, Gray will have a wide range of responsibilities, including oversight of operating and capital budgets, treasury services, cash and debt management, financial records, financial controls, financial reporting, procurement and payroll services, and grants and contracts accounting.

“Karol’s deep technical knowledge and higher education financial expertise will be invaluable to strengthen the university’s budget process and finances,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “She is known nationally as a strategic and collaborative leader and will be a great fit for VCU’s senior management team.”

Gray has more than 30 years experience in higher education finance, operations and management. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she served as vice chancellor for finance and administration, overseeing a $2.5 billion budget with responsibilities ranging from financial operations, treasury function and auxiliary operations to facilities services. At Stony Brook University in New York, she rose through the ranks to become vice president for finance and administration where she served as chief fiscal officer, responsible for the financial, budget and administrative operations of the university, including its health science center. Gray most recently was chief financial officer at Applied DNA Sciences Inc., a public biotech company headquartered in Stony Brook.

Gray is the recipient of the 2011 Long Island’s Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business Award. She is a board member of the Coram Center for Developmentally Disabled Adults Inc. and a member of several professional organizations, such as the National Association of College and University Business Officers, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and a past member of the State University Business Officers Association.

Gray earned a B.S. degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.