University Announces New Senior Vice Chancellor, Chief Financial Officer

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher has named Hari Sastry to serve as senior vice chancellor and chief financial officer. His nomination as an officer will be presented to the full Board of Trustees at the September meeting.

Sastry currently serves as the director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources at the U.S. Department of State. In this post, which he has held since 2014, he is responsible for managing all aspects of the $37 billion foreign assistance budget for the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development, including planning, budget formulation and execution, and program performance.

As a senior vice chancellor and the chief financial officer for the University of Pittsburgh, Sastry will serve as a key member of Gallagher’s senior leadership team. He will oversee all financial resources for the University — including general, student, cost and research accounting; budget and financial reporting; treasury responsibilities; payroll; tax matters and investments.

“Hari has a remarkable professional track record — one that is perfectly suited to where the University of Pittsburgh is going next,” said Gallagher. “I am pleased to welcome him to the Pitt community and already looking forward to his arrival in October.”

Sastry’s nomination follows a national search and consultation with Board of Trustees Chairperson Eva Tansky Blum and Budget Committee Chairperson Herbert Shear.

“I am thrilled to be joining the University of Pittsburgh family and the Pittsburgh community,” said Sastry. “It is an honor to work for such an extraordinary institution in such an exciting city, and I look forward to working with Chancellor Gallagher, the Board of Trustees, faculty members and staff to continue moving the University and its mission forward.”

Sastry previously served as deputy assistant secretary for resource management in the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this position, he was responsible for the department’s budget, performance and risk management operations.

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Sastry worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget as chief of the Veterans Affairs and Defense Health Branch. His responsibilities in this role involved managing all budget and policy matters related to the U.S. Department of Defense’s health care system and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sastry, a Chicago native, holds a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

Arthur Ramicone, who has served as CFO since 2010, announced his retirement in February, capping a 30-year career at Pitt during which time the University made numerous systems implementations and upgrades to achieve cost savings and restructured the financial units to bring enhanced cooperation and strengthened reporting and analysis capabilities.