GALVESTON, Texas - William R. Elger has been appointed executive vice president and chief business and finance officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Elger, who will begin his duties March 1, will be responsible for several UTMB departments, including human resources, business development and marketing, information services, facilities, and finance. In this newly created position reporting directly to Dr. David L. Callender, UTMB president, Elger will be responsible for UTMB's financial and business performance.
"Bill Elger is nationally known and respected for his work at Michigan and Arizona," said Callender. "We are excited that he'll be joining UTMB. The skills, experience and perspective he brings to this new position will help our university face the many challenges and opportunities that lay ahead."
Elger comes to UTMB from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, where he served as senior associate dean for administration and finance. Prior to his work at Arizona, Elger transformed the University of Michigan Medical School's financial operations as executive director for administration and chief financial officer.
At Michigan, Elger developed innovative financial-management tools that were crucial to the continuing success of the medical school and helped it gain prominence in financial circles. Elger's system has been emulated by a number of other medical schools throughout the nation. He is the author of "Managing Resources in a Better Way: A New Financial Management Approach for the University of Michigan Medical School," which appeared in the April 2006 edition of Academic Medicine.
Elger is a Certified Public Accountant and graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago. He was senior audit manager at Ernst & Whinney in Chicago from 1973-1987, where he specialized in audit and consulting services for the health care industry. From 1988-1989, Elger was chief financial officer/chief operations officer at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago, where he led a financial turnaround.
Elger has served on the board or committees of a number of civic and professional organizations including the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Business Affairs, serving as National Chair 2006-2007, and the Healthcare Management Association. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Illinois CPA Society and the Association of Academic Health Centers Senior Administrative/Fiscal Officers Group.