Dear Colleagues,
I’m pleased to announce that Elizabeth Chavez, Director of Contracts & Grants Accounting, has agreed to serve as the interim Controller.
I’ll be launching the search for the new Controller shortly and during the transition period, Elizabeth Chavez will lead the Controller’s Office and oversee Financial Operations, Contracts & Grants (C&G), Financial Accounting & Controls, CalTime and Central Payroll and the Berkeley Finance System (BFS).
Elizabeth has been with UC Berkeley for more than 14 years. Elizabeth obtained her BS at the Haas School of Business with a degree in Business Administration with an Accounting emphasis. After several years in which she worked in both public accounting and the private industry, she acquired her CPA certification and returned to work at her alma mater. During her career at UC Berkeley, Elizabeth has held many different positions and participated in various campus-wide projects; including the One Hierarchy organizational streamlining project, the UC Common Chart of Accounts, the BFS Contracts & Grants implementation, and, most recently, UCPath implementation.
Elizabeth originally joined the Contracts & Grants Accounting (CGA) team as the Accounting Manager, managing the Accounts Receivable and Accounting teams. She oversaw payment collections on over $170M in outstanding invoices as well as reconciliation and clean-up related to the C&G implementation. In October 2017 she was asked to step in as interim C&G Director, a position she has officially held since October 2018. Under her leadership, CGA has significantly reduced outstanding receivables, reconciled C&G converted awards and related accounts, streamlined accounting procedures, and successfully participated in two Uniform Guidance audits with no findings.
I am confident that Elizabeth will provide excellent guidance and leadership during this transitional time. Please feel free to reach out to Elizabeth with any questions at elizdchavez@berkeley.edu.
Sincerely,
Rosemarie Rae
Vice Chancellor of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.
