Announcing Jon Rueter, MBA, as Associate Dean for Financial Affairs

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Jon Rueter, MBA, as Associate Dean for Financial Affairs in the UCSF School of Medicine, effective July 1, 2025. We would like to thank the search committee, chaired by Mounira Kenaani, for their work in considering an exceptional pool of candidates for this position.

In this critical role, Jon will serve as the School’s senior financial strategist, overseeing financial operations and reporting, planning and analysis, and compliance management. As head of the Dean’s Office Financial Affairs Unit, he will lead a team of more than 20 people and collaborate closely with department chairs, organized research unit directors, chief administrative officers, and UCSF Health and campus partners to advance our financial strategies, systems, and tools. His work will be instrumental in supporting the School’s tripartite mission and shaping institution-wide financial infrastructure.

Jon brings more than two decades of experience in research administration, clinical revenue management, and strategic financial planning—all at UCSF. Most recently, he served as Director of Research Administration & Revenue Management in the Department of Medicine, where he led operations supporting $360 million in annual research expenditures and $185 million in clinical revenue. He has been a campus leader in business intelligence, financial transparency, and AI-enabled decision support, and has co-led efforts that significantly reduced clinical trial activation time and improved financial operations across the enterprise.

Jon’s deep institutional knowledge, commitment to operational excellence, and collaborative approach make him uniquely qualified to assume this leadership role. He is a recipient of the prestigious Holly Smith Award for Exceptional Service to the School of Medicine and currently serves on multiple campus committees focused on research, DEI, and sponsored project optimization.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Amal Smith for her many contributions over the past eight years as Associate Dean for Financial Affairs and for her 25 years of service to the University of California.

During her time in the School of Medicine Dean’s Office, Amal has led numerous initiatives that significantly improved our understanding of the School’s financial health and the alignment of our resources—critical advancements that strengthened our communication with both UCSF Health and Campus leadership. She has helped refine resource allocations across the institution, including the UCSF Health clinical funds flow, the School of Medicine basic science funds flow, faculty state FTE planning, and the core campus assessment model (ORAM).

Before joining UCSF, Amal spent 17 years in financial leadership roles at the UC Office of the President and 10 years at KPMG, where she focused on developing indirect cost recovery rates and related studies.

Amal approaches challenges with intellectual curiosity and compassion, always in service of UCSF’s mission. She has also built and nurtured a high-performing Financial Affairs team whose engagement ranked in the 86th percentile on last year’s Gallup survey. Her leadership, integrity, and commitment to partnership have left a lasting mark on all of us.

Please join us in expressing our deep gratitude to Amal for her exceptional service, congratulating Jon on his new role, and warmly welcoming him to the School of Medicine Dean’s Office leadership team.