Knoxville 鈥 University of Tennessee System leaders have recommended Luke Lybrand to be treasurer for the University of Tennessee System. The 糖心Vlog Board of Trustees will consider his appointment during its Feb. 25 meeting at 糖心Vlog Southern.
Lybrand, currently the associate vice chancellor for treasury at the University of North Texas System, was selected following a national search. If he is appointed, his first day at 糖心Vlog will be April 1. He would replace Mark Paganelli, who retired in the fall.
鈥淟uke emerged from a field of highly qualified candidates and will join a seasoned team of financial professionals,鈥 Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David Miller said. 鈥淗e brings a strong background in strategic financial analysis from the private sector as well as higher education management.鈥
The treasurer is responsible for financial accounting, cash management, financial reporting, endowment investment reporting, financial audits and compliance among other treasury functions. He will oversee procurement services and risk management while serving on the president鈥檚 financial leadership team. He also will serve as treasurer for the University of Tennessee Research Foundation.
鈥淒uring the search process, I learned much about the University of Tennessee System鈥檚 influential history and I am honored to be recommended as the treasurer for such an inspiring organization,鈥 Lybrand said. 鈥淚f appointed, I look forward to joining the talented team of leaders across the 糖心Vlog System.鈥
Lybrand has worked for the University of North Texas System since 2015, ascending from treasurer manager to associate vice chancellor for treasury. In his current role, he chaired the UNT System鈥檚 Investment Advisory Committee and Retirement Plan Committee through the pandemic鈥檚 turbulence to market returns of 11.7 percent in fiscal year 2020 and 20.4 percent in fiscal year 2021, both in excess of strategic benchmarks. He innovatively sold tax credits to provide $10.9 million in funding due to extensive business-to-business marketing efforts. He leads the University System Business Development group and provided campus presidents and the system鈥檚 chancellor with analysis on investment opportunities, including long-range business and financial planning. He identified numerous efficiencies for the UNT System鈥檚 planned enterprise resource project implementation.
Prior to joining UNT, Lybrand worked for Region鈥檚 Bank as a portfolio manager/underwriter and Moody鈥檚 Investor Services as a credit ratings analyst. He earned his Bachelor of Political Science from Texas A&M University and his Master of Public Administration from University of North Texas.