Our Leadership

Laura E. Hubbard is responsible for the oversight of strategic financial planning and analysis of resource use and development. Named vice president for finance and administration in early 2012, she oversees UB Business Services, Emergency Management, Human Resources, Internal Audit, Parking and Transportation Services, Policy and Operational Excellence, Office of Real Estate and Property Management, Resource Planning, Office of Sustainability, University Facilities, and University Police. 

Chris Austin leads and directs the operations, communications and future planning for UB’s office of Parking and Transportation Services. Chris has more than twenty years of progressive professional management and leadership experience in the parking and transportation industries. He leads a team that manages over 16,000 surface parking spaces across our three campuses, while providing transportation options that transport over 2.5 million passengers annually, providing attractive, sustainable alternatives to single occupant travel. He has a combined twelve years of service on the Board of Parking Directors for the City of Buffalo and New York State Parking Association, and is a Certified Administrator of Public Parking (CAPP). 

Ms. Laura Barnum leads her staff in guiding the university resource planning process. Implementing UB’s institutional vision for the future, Ms. Barnum provides strategic advice on university and unit finances in relation to investment decisions across the university; serves as the principal liaison to campus divisions for long-term budget planning and forecasting activities; and helps guide financial best practices and reporting that allow the schools and support units to understand their respective resource status and the role they play in the larger university context. Ms. Barnum is a graduate of the University at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree as well as a Master of Science degree from Canisius College. She has over 24 years of higher education experience. Since arriving at UB in 1996, Ms. Barnum has held several positions including in the Division of Athletics as Assistant Athletics Director of Business Operations where she expanded the business operations unit during a period of rapid growth as the program moved to Division I, and as Associate Athletics Director, Internal Operations and Senior Woman Administrator where she monitored and coordinated all gender equity planning efforts; she has also served as the Senior Associate Vice Provost in the Office of Academic Planning and Budget where she developed a new University Resource Management process which integrated multiple areas such as philanthropy, research, enrollment, financial, personnel, capital, public service initiatives, diversity and legislative priorities with over 30 university units and she was responsible for the University Internal Financial Plan including annual revenue and commitments of over $100M.

As Interim Chief of Police, Chris Bartolomei oversees the university’s 80 member police force that serves and protects our daily population of 40,000 students, staff, and visitors. With a commitment to community-oriented, fair and impartial policing strategies, UB’s police officers are dedicated to ensure our campuses are safe places to study, work, live, or visit, and where the peaceful free expression of ideas is protected. UB Police is also committed to professional excellence through the adoption of national best practices. Chris served as Accreditation Manager when UB became the first university police department in New York state to become accredited by the Division of Criminal Justice Services, and he remained in charge of policy development when the department was awarded national accreditations by both CALEA Recognition and IACLEA. He has over twenty years of progressive law enforcement experience, an MS in Criminal Justice Administration, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Chris also currently serves as an Accreditation Assessor for the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Mark Coldren, as associate vice president for Human Resources (HR), shepherds the human resources’ mission at UB.  Before Mark joined UB he was the chief Human Resources officer at Ithaca College for eight years with overall responsibility for all HR functions, working closely with the president and president’s council to focus on strategic direction for the institution.  Mark has over 25 years of experience in HR. Previous to Ithaca, Mark worked at Syracuse University and had professional background and experience in software design, manufacturing and public education settings in human resources and learning, including overall HR strategic and functional responsibility, organizational development consulting, compensation systems, employee/labor relations and performance management. The scope of his responsibility includes HR for both the state and Research Foundation employees.

Beth Corry, as associate vice president for Business Services and controller, delivers innovative business solutions and services to UB through involvement in purchasing, payments, financial operations, printing, mail and Strategic Information Reporting Initiative (SIRI).  Beth has over 18 years of higher education experience in progressively responsible management positions at the university, most recently as the Director of Financial Services where she demonstrated her leadership in accounting and financial reporting, cost analysis, cash management, compliance adherence and financial data security.  Her wide range of experience includes knowledge of New York State, State University of New York (SUNY) and Research Foundation of SUNY financial practices, policies and financial systems. She maintains partnerships as a financial expert with various units such as Resource Planning, Research and Economic Development and Financial Advisory board.

Renee Filip is responsible for overseeing the deployment and development of business communications within the division and providing leadership and insight for the development and evaluation of the division’s three-year plans and other strategic planning efforts. As a chief confidant and support to the vice president, Renee's focus is on promoting and expanding the reach and impact of the Division of Finance and Administration’s key work, initiatives, and operations. As a senior-level business leader with over 26 years of experience in change management, implementing effective use of existing resources and aligning distinct missions, Renee Filip is recognized as an effective liaison and dynamic professional with a proven history of cross-functional leadership within business, academic and government sectors.  Most recently, Renee previously served as Chief Operating Officer of UBMD Physicians’ Group, as Senior Director at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and as Chief of Staff and Executive for Government and Corporate Relations at Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation.

Kara Kearney-Saylor, as director of Internal Audit, will lead, develop and manage a strategic and comprehensive risk assessment and internal audit program that supports the university’s mission, plans and goals. She will lead the development of the university’s annual audit plan, serve as the university’s point of contact for all external audit activities and work actively with SUNY Audit and Enterprise Risk Management initiatives.  Kara has served at Boston University since 2006 as Interim Director and co-chaired the Enterprise Risk Management Steering Committee and Information Security Committee. She previously served at Houghton Mifflin, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young in various audit and tax consultant roles. She is also a Certified Internal Auditor and has a Certification in Risk Management Assurance.

Susan Krzystofiak joined UB in 1994 after spending several years as a CPA working in public accounting.  Since her arrival, she has held a number of positions in both Financial Services and Human Resources.  Her new role is primarily directed toward Policy and Operational Excellence activity and draws heavily on those financial and human resource experiences.  This Policy and Operational Excellence unit is responsible for populating and maintaining the policy library, working with campus units on records management, addressing FOIL requests, and coordinating unit administrative reviews.  In addition to directing Policy and Operational Excellence, Susan also serves as an Ethics Officer and the campus Deputy Operations Manager for the Research Foundation.      

In his role as the Chief Sustainability Officer, Ryan connects people across the university with information, innovation and tools to reduce UB’s carbon footprint and enhance quality of life by improving environmental stewardship, increasing economic efficiency and augmenting cultural values and awareness. He specifically works closely with university partners and employs an integrated campus-wide strategy that leverages the university’s operations, curriculum, external engagement and research to further UB’s sustainability efforts. Previously, Ryan has held positions at UB as Associate Vice President for Government and Community Relations and as Chief of Staff for external affairs. Prior to joining UB, Ryan worked in Washington, D.C. and New Hampshire, advocating for greater environmental protection and democratic participation.

Tonga Pham, as associate vice president for University Facilities, leads an organization whose mission is to maintain a safe, healthy and attractive campus environment by providing direct and advisory services in the design, construction and maintenance of the university’s new and existing facilities.  Tonga, with over 20 years of experience in various management and technical positions, comes to UB from Ryerson University in Toronto where she monitored the management of the physical infrastructure of the university and ensured the functional, social and aesthetic aspects of the physical campus and its relationship to the community.   As a business person, she has been responsible for managing both capital and operational budgets of increasing size and maintaining a four million square foot campus located in the urban center of Toronto.

Ronald Place is the Director of Real Estate and Property Management (REPM) for UB. REPM is a new department established in 2014 and handles real estate transactions including new property acquisition, leasing, state agreements, UB and partner downtown property coordination.  In 2006 Ron joined UB as Associate Director of Space Planning and Management and was the Acting Director of the Capital Planning Group from 2012 to 2014. He has been actively involved in UB's master plans and the relocation of the School of Medicine downtown.

Jay Roorbach coordinates planning for emergencies that affect university operations, organizing and leading the overall university response strategies when emergencies occur to ensure continuity of business services, instruction and research. He also provides emergency planning technical assistance to all organizations affiliated with UB and coordinates drills and exercises to validate emergency plans. Jay has over 20 years of experience in emergency management and preparedness, regulatory compliance and enforcement and hazardous materials management in the federal, state, military and civilian sectors. Jay served in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps for 13 prior to working at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., assisting states with the development of homeland security strategies. He also worked as a contractor for the U.S. departments of Transportation, Defense, and Justice, and for the Michigan State Police Emergency Management Division.