University of California, Davis, Chancellor Gary S. May has selected Clare Shinnerl to serve as the next vice chancellor of Finance, Operations and Administration, or FOA, effective Aug. 15. Shinnerl is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years’ experience, most recently at UC San Francisco, where she has been senior associate vice chancellor of campus life services.

“I’m thrilled that Clare will be leading FOA, a division that impacts every aspect of our university,” May said. “Clare is respected for her ability to bring people together, solve complex issues and maintain a positive and collaborative working style. She’s very familiar with the University of California and I’m confident FOA and UC Davis will be in good hands.” 

In her role at UCSF, Shinnerl oversees a large division with nearly 900 team members who provide service to campus and health in the areas of documents and media, conference and event services, facilities, family services, fitness and recreation, housing, retail, sustainability, transportation, utilities, and wellness and community. 

“I am delighted to be joining UC Davis as vice chancellor at such a pivotal time,” Shinnerl said. “I look forward to collaborating with FOA teams and others across the university to further advance UC Davis’ mission.”

Before UCSF

Prior to joining UCSF in 2015, Shinnerl was chief operating and financial officer for the Pacific Business Group on Health, or PBGH. In that position, she helped PBGH lower health care costs and improve health care quality for large employers that purchase benefits, including such companies as Boeing, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Stanford, Tesla and Walmart.

Shinnerl spent nearly four years as the senior associate dean for finance and administration at Stanford University’s School of Engineering. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, she was assistant vice president for business services at the University of Southern California, where she held leadership positions for 13 years.

As vice chancellor, Shinnerl will provide organizational leadership and stewardship of FOA’s 13 distinct units, which include more than 1,600 employees who steward campus resources. Her portfolio will include Budget and Institutional Analysis, Business Transformation and Technology, Campus Planning and Environmental Stewardship, Design and Construction Management, Divisional Resources, Facilities Management, Finance, Fire Department, Human Resources, Police Department, Safety Services, and University Resources.

FOA’s wide coverage

FOA has made sustainability a priority. One major effort underway is meeting the University of California regents’ goal for all the UCs to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. UC Davis is on track to accomplish this with a project called the Big Shift. This is a large-scale construction project that replaces the campus’s natural-gas-fueled steam system with a new, renewable-energy-powered hot water system.

The division has played a key role in managing Healthy Davis Together, a partnership among UC Davis, the city of Davis and Yolo County to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

FOA monitors and maintains 14 million square feet of office and lab spaces; hires, develops and retains about 15,000 campus and health staff; models sustainable practices across 5,300 acres of public garden; and operates 400 miles of pipes and vents under and above ground. 

Holds M.B.A. and Ed.D.

Shinnerl earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at UC San Diego, a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Redlands and a doctorate in higher education management (Ed.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania. She and her husband, a computer scientist, have two adult children: a daughter completing her undergraduate degree this summer and a son who recently completed graduate school. 

In making this announcement, May expressed his appreciation for the work of the recruitment advisory committee, which was co-led by Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor, and Richard Tucker, professor, Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine; and chair, Davis Division of the Academic Senate.

Shinnerl fills the vice chancellor role following Kelly Ratliff’s retirement last month. Eric Kvigne, associate vice chancellor of Safety Services, and Christine Lovely, associate vice chancellor and chief human resources officer, are serving as interim FOA leaders until Shinnerl is on board in mid-August.