FitzGerald appointed UNC Chief of Staff by President Ross

Please read the two messages below – one from Dr. Roper to the UNC Health Care Board of Directors, and one message from UNC System President Ross to the UNC Board of Governors.

Message from Dr. Roper to the UNC Health Care Board of Directors

Dear Colleagues,

Below is President Ross’ announcement of Kevin FitzGerald’s appointment as his new Chief of Staff, effective September 4. We all congratulate Kevin on this important and well-deserved promotion.

Kevin has served the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health Care exceptionally well in a series of key roles over the past five years.

He has been instrumental in building relations with the state legislature. His major achievements include securing state funding for the NC Cancer Hospital and for the Imaging Research Building. In addition, he has been extraordinarily effective in helping explain UNC’s leadership role in a changing health care environment.

I especially appreciate his dedication to bringing the many parts of the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health Care together and facilitating our work as a coherent system.

It has been a genuine pleasure and privilege to work with Kevin over these years.

All of us look forward to working with him in his new role, and we wish him all the best.

Sincerely,

Bill Roper, MD, MPH
Dean, UNC School of Medicine
CEO, UNC Health Care System

Message from President Ross to the UNC Board of Governors

Members of the Board of Governors:

As all of you know, Jeff Davies played a critical role in the day-to-day operations of UNC General Administration, and his recent retirement left a serious void in our leadership team. Finding the right person to succeed Jeff has been a high priority, and I’m delighted to report that Kevin FitzGerald, Chief of Staff for the UNC Health Care System and UNC School of Medicine, has agreed to become UNC Chief of Staff, effective September 4.

Kevin brings to the job an intimate knowledge of the University and its importance to North Carolina. Prior to becoming Chief of Staff to Health Care System CEO Bill Roper last year, he had served as Executive Associate Dean for Finance and Administration and then Vice Dean for Finance and Administration of the UNC School of Medicine. Previously, he had served concurrent roles as Special Assistant to the Chancellor and legislative liaison at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Director of the Center for Public Technologies at the School of Government. Since 2007, Kevin has been an adjunct faculty member in the School of Government, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in social entrepreneurship. Earlier in his career, he worked in a variety of state and local government positions, including Director of the NC Division of Social Services and Assistant County Manager in Forsyth County. He holds an undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and a master’s degree in public administration from UNC-Chapel Hill.

I am convinced that Kevin will be a wonderful addition to our team and a tremendous asset to General Administration. I know that he can count on your full support and I hope you will extend to him a warm welcome.

Tom

Thomas Ross
President, University of North Carolina System