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Dear colleagues, I’m pleased to announce that David Massaron has been appointed Wayne State University’s chief business officer and CFO/senior vice president for finance and business operations and treasurer. His appointment is effective upon the completion of the fiscal year 2022 budget for the State of Michigan. Dave, who currently serves as the State of Michigan’s budget director, will be responsible for the university’s overall financial and business affairs, including preparation of the general and auxiliary fund budgets, business services, human resources, and facilities management. In his capacity, Dave will work closely with the university’s Board of Governors, senior leadership and faculty, as well as key members of the local and state business and political communities. Before joining the state, Dave served as the CFO for the City of Detroit, where he supervised all of the city’s financial and budget activities. Prior to his CFO assignment, he served as the city’s chief operating officer and senior counsel to Mayor Mike Duggan. In that role, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city, including ensuring that annual budgets reflected the mayor’s priorities. His accomplishments with the city include achieving five years of balanced budgets post-bankruptcy, implementing a $1.8 billion capital investment strategy to improve city infrastructure and facilities, and developing the crisis management strategy to deploy federal funds and reduce city expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure continued solvency for the city. He is a graduate of James Madison College at Michigan State University and the William and Mary School of Law. Dave replaces Rebecca Cooke, who came out of retirement to serve in the position on an interim basis while the university held a national search. We’re tremendously grateful to Rebecca for her skilled leadership throughout the numerous historical challenges presented during the pandemic. Thanks to her dedicated service and intuitive counsel, Wayne State is emerging from the pandemic in a stronger position than many other higher education institutions. We wish her a rewarding next chapter as she resumes her retirement. The search committee was chaired by Vice President of Communications and Chief of Staff Michael Wright and included a cross section of faculty and administration from the campus community. After a rigorous national search that yielded many highly qualified individuals, Dave emerged as the top choice to fill this critically important leadership position. I wish to thank all members of the search committee for their excellent work. Dave is a proven leader and problem solver, with a demonstrated ability to find creative solutions and build consensus. He is a great fit for us, and we’re honored he is joining Wayne State. Regards,
M. Roy Wilson |
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