Tuesday, August 27, 2019
University of North Texas System Chancellor Lesa Roe announced that Dan Tenney, Associate Administrator, Mission Support for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has been named Vice Chancellor for Finance/Chief Financial Officer for the UNT System. In his new position, Tenney will oversee the UNT System’s $1.3 billion budget and serve as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer.
Tenney, who was offered the position following a national search, will begin his new role on Sept. 23, and will be based at UNT System headquarters in downtown Dallas. He will replace Interim Vice Chancellor/Chief Financial Officer James Mauldin, who will resume his full-time duties as Associate Vice Chancellor for Treasury.
Tenney served NASA for more than 27 years, most recently as the senior most official in the federal agency responsible for institutional and business functions – including areas such as procurement, human resources, facilities, partnerships, and protective services. He oversaw an annual budget of $3.5 billion, 7,500 employees and 5,000 highly technical facilities. As NASA’s Associate Administrator for Mission Support, Tenney led a significant effort that moved the agency from an independent operating model with redundant capabilities across 10 field centers to an enterprise approach with a geographically dispersed workforce – estimated to save the federal agency millions of dollars.
Previously, Tenney served NASA as the Chief Financial Officer at NASA Langley Research Center – the largest of the agency’s research centers with an $850M budget and 150 test laboratories. As CFO, he led highly complex multi-year budget planning, accounting, monthly reconciliation, audited annual financial reporting, automated systems, internal controls and an ERP with 30+ systems (including financial, procurement, asset management, travel and human resources). Tenney has a strong track record of developing professionals and aligning them to the organizational mission.
“I am very familiar with Dan’s incredible experience, skillset and leadership abilities from our time together at NASA,” said Roe, who served as NASA’s Interim Deputy Administrator prior to her arrival in North Texas two years ago. “Dan has provided strong and effective leadership in all areas of financial management. At the same time, he has demonstrated proven abilities in developing strategic plans, accomplishing ambitious goals, managing complex operations across multiple locations and developing future leaders for the nation. I am truly honored to have such an amazing leader as Dan Tenney join our UNT System Team. I also want to thank James Mauldin, who stepped up and served admirably in an interim capacity – we are deeply appreciative of his efforts in that role.”
Tenney holds a bachelor’s degree from Christopher Newport University and an MBA from Averett University. He also completed Harvard’s Senior Executive Fellows program and received the Presidential Rank Award from the Federal Government in 2018.