Jay serves as the director of finance and budget for the Herbert College of Agriculture.  His responsibilities include oversight of the College budget, providing strategic guidance to College leadership and oversight of all financial matters within the College. Jay has worked in various roles at the University of Tennessee including positions within the Tickle College of Engineering, the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy, and the Division of Research Administration. Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Jay worked in public accounting.

Education

University of Akron, Bachelor of Science, Accounting, May 2007
University of Memphis, Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance, December 2002

What excites you the most about this position?
One of my career dreams at the University of Tennessee is to become a director of finance at the college level and the director of finance position with the Herbert College of Agriculture is my dream job come true! I am very excited to work with the amazing leadership team at Herbert and look forward to providing strategic input on ambitious future growth of the College.

Do you have any guiding philosophies/principles for working with budget models and various stakeholders in the College?
One of my guiding principles working with budgets at the College is to ensure all stakeholders understand how the budget works and to explore all implications of forecasting. I pride myself on the ability to break down “financial talk” into everyday language. Building relationships with stakeholders is very important in building trust and this is a top priority for me. I want to be seen as a transparent professional who is willing to do whatever it takes to meet mutual goals of the College and individual departments.

What are some of your interests outside of work?
My wife and I travel extensively across the country and we especially love visiting National Parks. We also enjoy hiking, bike riding, and dancing.