Chinniah appointed University’s CFO

Nim Chinniah has been appointed Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the University effective Wednesday, August 1. Chinniah currently serves as the deputy vice chancellor for administration and academic affairs for Vanderbilt University. Chinniah will succeed Donald Reaves.

In announcing the appointment, President Zimmer said, “In Nim’s 16 years at Vanderbilt, he has obtained a broad set of experiences in finance, administration and academic planning. Nim has built an excellent reputation on his ability to greatly improve the managerial capacity of administrative units, develop effective financial and budgeting systems in support of the academic mission, and lead successful planning efforts in a wide range of areas. We are delighted to have him join the leadership team at Chicago.”

Gordon Gee, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, said, “Nim Chinniah is a star. He has performed brilliantly through a host of assignments at Vanderbilt University, and in so doing, has made immeasurable contributions to our success.”

As deputy vice chancellor for administration and academic affairs, Chinniah serves as Vanderbilt’s lead financial and administrative officer for Vanderbilt’s eight schools and colleges, while overseeing information systems, university registrar, plant operations, business services, real estate operations, police and printing services. He also has held the positions of manager of finance and information systems, director of finance and information systems, and associate vice chancellor for administration.

Lauren Brisky, Vanderbilt’s vice chancellor for administration and chief financial officer, said in a statement, “For a long time, Nim may have been one of the best kept secrets in higher education, but now the secret is out; Vanderbilt has been extremely fortunate to have benefited from Nim’s service for all these years.”

In his new position, Chinniah will develop a long-term financial plan that supports significant new investments as part of an ambitious plan for the University, which currently has a combined budget with the University of Chicago Medical Center approaching $3 billion.

He will have overall responsibility for the Administration and Finance Division of the University, which comprises more than 400 staff in several departments, including Facilities Services, Human Resources Management, the Budget Office, Risk Management and Audit, Comptroller and Business Diversity.

Provost Thomas Rosenbaum noted, “Nim has demonstrated in his time at Vanderbilt how to support the academic mission of the University at the highest level. I look forward to working with him to ensure that Chicago’s financial priorities and administrative areas are aligned to fully support our faculty and students.”

Chinniah said of his appointment, “I consider it a high honor to be selected to serve the University of Chicago. My family and I are excited to begin the process of moving to Chicago. I am energized at the opportunity to join this extraordinary university as it develops ambitious plans for the future.”

Chinniah earned an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a B.S. in computer science and business (summa cum laude) from Lambuth University.

He received the “Rising Star” award in 2003 from the National Association of College and University Business Officers. He also has served as chairman of the Nashville Human Relations Commission, a position appointed by the mayor of Nashville.

He is a member of the First Tennessee Bank Nashville Advisory Board and is a board member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee and the Adventure Science Center, among many other professional affiliations.