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Law announces leadership change in Office of Business and Finance

Current Chief Financial Officer Richard Sobieray will transition to a role working on the partnership between USF and Tampa General Hospital. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Richard Sobieray will transition into a new role working with USF and Tampa General Hospital (TGH), according to a Monday universitywide email from President Rhea Law.

Law did not mention when the change will take effect. 

Sobieray has been in his previous role since October 2021 where he oversaw financial and IT operations, facilities and public safety for all three USF campuses and USF Health, according to the email. 

He will transition “his efforts” to enhance the USF and TGH partnership and work on the development of a new funds flow model for their shared success, Law wrote. 

She wrote that Sobieray was chosen due to his healthcare knowledge and expertise. Prior to serving as CFO, he was the senior associate vice president and CFO of USF Health.

Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and Chief Strategy Officer Gerard Solis will take up Sobieray’s responsibilities. He will provide strategic direction and manage the financial, budget and treasury operations of the university as well as oversee facilities, public safety and IT. 

Solis has worked at USF since 2003 when he joined as assistant general counsel in the university’s counsel office.

“Gerard’s impact over the course of his 20-year career at USF cannot be overstated,” Law wrote.

Law also announced that Darren Schumacher, president and chief executive officer of the USF Institute of Applied Engineering, will serve as a special advisor to manage and accelerate progress towards the Responsibility Center Management (RCM) budget model at USF. 

The RCM philosophy is an incentive-based budgeting model designed to align budget allocations with university goals and objectives by decentralizing several components of the budget authority. In RCM, operational authority would be delegated between colleges, centers and other units.

USF presents four benefits to implementing RCM:

  • Encourages and creates greater transparency
  • Enhances accountability across all areas of the university
  • Eliminates the need for negotiation
  • Helps institutions manage effectively even if funding declines 

Currently, the university operates on an incremental system in which the central USF administration provides funds to colleges and administrative areas based on historic spending patterns. 

The plan to switch to an RCM philosophy was first brought up in 2014. The transition to the new model is expected to begin in 2025 and be fully implemented in 2027. 

Schumacher will work alongside Law, Solis and the executive leadership team to ensure a “smooth transition” to the RCM model, Law wrote.