UTA selects John Davidson as new VP for business and finance
The University of Texas at Arlington has selected John R. Davidson to serve as vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer (CFO).
Davidson brings more than 20 years’ experience in government and higher education finance leadership positions to his new role at UTA, where he had been serving as interim CFO since February. His new role took effect Aug. 22.
He joined UTA in August 2015 as associate vice president for budgets, planning and analysis, leading the design and implementation of a transformational planning and budgeting software and an effort to redesign the University’s budget model.
“As vice president for business and finance and CFO, John will serve as a key leader in helping UTA be one of the nation’s most inclusive and impactful research universities,” UTA President Jennifer Cowley said. “With his institutional knowledge and extensive professional experience, he has the talent and knowledge to develop the University’s resource strategies and infrastructure plans to achieve success in our strategic focus areas.”
Prior to UTA, Davidson served as vice chancellor for administrative affairs and CFO at Arkansas State University–Mountain Home, institutional finance coordinator at the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, and senior budget analyst with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. He earned both an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Louisiana Tech University.
“The UTA search committee is thrilled with the selection of Mr. John Davidson as UTA’s next vice president for business and finance and CFO,” said Harry Dombroski, dean of the College of Business and chair of the UTA vice president for business and finance and CFO search committee. “John brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the position of CFO. Additionally, John’s intimate knowledge of UTA provides the University’s finance function the ability to seamlessly transition to the next generation of leadership.”
“It is an exciting time to be at UTA as we strive toward our vision to be one of the most inclusive and impactful research universities,” Davidson said. “I am grateful to Dr. Crowley and the search committee for the opportunity to serve the UTA community in this leadership role. I look forward to working with my colleagues, team and stakeholders across the University to drive our strategic priorities and achieve our goals together.”
Davidson replaces Kelly Davis, who retired in January 2022 after serving more than 25 years at UTA, most recently as CFO and vice president.