UNC finance head, nominee share NY origins

Working with his predecessor might provide Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Dick Mann with an opportunity to reminisce about his past.

In 2006, Mann made the move from Stony Brook University in New York to fill UNC’s top finance position.

Karol Kain Gray will make that same transition at the end of this year, pending approval of the Board of Trustees in September.

Chancellor Holden Thorp recommended Gray for the finance position last week. Gray confirmed that she will accept the offer.

“UNC is a great institution and this is a good career move for me, personally,” Gray said.

Gray, who worked her way up from an assistant in the accounting department to Stony Brook’s top finance position, served under Mann for 10 years.

“I tried to keep my distance from Dick during the search process,” Gray said. She said the two had the same level of interaction as the other candidates during the search process.

Mann wrote in an email that he looks forward to helping Gray make the transition from Stony Brook to UNC.

“UNC-Chapel Hill is different in a number of ways from Stony Brook, and understanding those differences will be important for the new vice chancellor,” he said.

While Stony Brook has nearly 5,000 fewer students than UNC, the two schools have had to deal with similar budget woes in recent years.
“I need to get involved early on before I know whether or not the tactics I used in handling budget cuts at Stony Brook will be applicable at UNC,” Gray said.

Stony Brook lost more than 20 percent of its state funding from 2008 to 2010. UNC’s state funding was cut by 18 percent this year.
Gray has worked in finance at Stony Brook for 33 years.

“The search committee asked why I stayed so long, and I think it shows my dedication to my work and to my family,” she said.

“I have three sons who are in college and living on their own now, so this should be a relatively easy transition for my family.”

She and her husband plan to look for housing in Chapel Hill this fall before she is scheduled to begin work at UNC on Dec. 1.

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