PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Sarah C. Latham, an accomplished leader in higher education administration who serves currently as vice chancellor for business and administrative services at the University of California Santa Cruz, has been appointed Brown University’s next executive vice president for finance and administration.
Since joining UC Santa Cruz in 2012, Latham has been responsible for a wide-ranging portfolio that includes everything from business services and human resources to facilities, athletics, housing and campus police. She oversees financial affairs for a university with an annual operating budget of $830 million, an array of campus construction projects and a staff that totals nearly 1,000 employees. Over the past year, she’s played a lead role in the campus COVID-19 operational response, including the development of a new telecommuting model.
Brown President Christina H. Paxson said that in searching for its next executive vice president, the University sought a collaborative leader and talented manager with the ability to advance operational excellence across a wide range of administrative departments and units.
“Sarah brings an approach built on a foundation of partnership across faculty, staff, students and community leaders,” Paxson said. “Her leadership will be instrumental in ensuring strong administrative and financial support for Brown’s academic mission and distinctive student experience. She is deeply skilled in both advancing strategic priorities and supporting teams and also the essential tactical-level work that keeps a vibrant university campus moving forward. We’re excited to welcome her to Brown.”
Latham’s appointment follows a national search. As the senior member of the University’s executive team responsible for most non-academic operations, she will report directly to Paxson and lead all administrative, business and financial operations. Responsibilities in the executive vice president’s portfolio include, among others, finance and treasury functions, human resources, facilities management, real estate, risk management, business operations, dining services, internal audit, and auxiliary services including the Brown Bookstore.
Additional responsibilities include working with the president’s executive team on strategic planning, including the development of financial and capital plans; collaborating with the provost and senior officers on the University Resources Committee to develop annual budget recommendations; and advising the president and Brown Corporation on financial planning.
Prior to her appointment at UC Santa Cruz, Latham served for 10 years at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, as director of institutional research, assistant to the president and, ultimately, vice president for operations and planning from 2008 to 2012. She also served as an instructor in the Department of Political Science, teaching courses on public policy that built on early-career experiences in the Florida state legislature and Florida Board of Regents.