William R. Elger serves as the executive vice president, chief business and finance officer for UTMB. In this role, he oversees five major areas of operational support, including: business development and marketing; facilities and business operations; finance; human resources; and information services. Reporting directly to UTMB President Dr. David L. Callender, he is responsible for UTMB’s financial and business support performance. He oversees a workforce of approximately 1,200 employees.
His career spans almost 40 years of service in medical education and health care services. He joined UTMB in March 2009, coming from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, where he served as senior associate dean for administration and finance. Prior to Arizona, Bill was with the University of Michigan Medical School at Ann Arbor, where he served as its chief financial officer and executive director for administration for nearly 20 years.
During his tenure at Michigan, Bill garnered national recognition for developing innovative financial management tools that afforded “real-time” data in the decision-making process. In the April 2006 edition of Academic Medicine, he authored “Managing Resources in a Better Way: A New Financial Management Approach for the University of Michigan Medical School.” The financial tools and system he and his Michigan team created have been emulated by other medical schools throughout the nation. He also completely revised the medical school’s traditional budgeting system, developed a rolling, five-year financial forecasting system and led a capital funding plan which enabled the University of Michigan Medical School to construct three research buildings totaling 1.1M gross square feet.
A Certified Public Accountant, Bill graduated from the University of Illinois – Chicago. Early in his career, he was affiliated with the firm of Ernst & Whinney in Chicago from 1973-1987, where he specialized in audit and consulting services for the health care industry. From 1988-1989, he led a financial turnaround of the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago, serving as its chief financial officer/chief operations officer.
Bill has served in volunteer leadership roles with numerous civic and professional organizations, including his term in 2006-2007 as National Chair for the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Business Affairs. Active for many years with the Healthcare Management Association, he is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Illinois CPA Society and the Association of Academic Health Center Senior Administrative/Fiscal Officers Group.