Kurt Shepherd has been appointed vice chancellor for budget and financial planning and chief budget officer at Washington University in St. Louis, effective May 20, Chancellor Andrew D. Martin announced.
Shepherd has served since 2021 as the assistant vice chancellor for finance at Vanderbilt University.
In this newly created role of chief budget officer, Shepherd will lead WashU’s budgeting and financial planning, overseeing the annual operating budget, long-term forecasting and scenario modeling to ensure resources align with academic, research and strategic priorities, including capital projects, and long-term economic stability.
“We are excited to welcome such an experienced financial professional to WashU to provide strategic leadership over our financial planning to ensure we have the resources to meet our highest institutional objectives,” said David J. Gray, WashU’s executive vice chancellor for finance and chief financial officer.
Shepherd will partner with senior leadership to guide resource allocation and support decision-making through robust financial systems, clear reporting and integrated planning across key drivers such as enrollment, research and philanthropy. The position also provides for strong budget governance and internal controls and leads a high-performing finance team.
Shepherd, a native of Iowa City, Iowa, who also previously lived in St. Louis and in Memphis, Tenn., earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Evansville in Indiana. Afterward, he and his wife moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he began his career at Vanderbilt in 2000. His first role at that university was as a consultant for management information systems.
“I’m honored to join WashU at such an exciting moment for the university,” Shepherd said. “Having previously called St. Louis home, it’s especially meaningful to return and be part of a community that is doing such important work in teaching, research and patient care. I look forward to partnering with colleagues across the institution to help advance WashU’s mission and support its continued success.”
Shepherd started his career in finance and administration within Vanderbilt’s Center for Stem Cell Biology. In 2013, Shepherd moved to University Enrollment Affairs as the director of administration and finance, where he remained until June 2016, when he moved into leadership roles in the finance department.
In 2021, he was promoted to assistant vice chancellor to lead strategic financial operations for all academic affairs areas, including 10 academic schools and colleges, as well as all vice provost and provost central areas.
He led financial management activities with a combined annual operating budget of $1.3 billion, delivering high-quality financial reporting and forecasting deliverables for the assigned schools and divisions, including projection and scenario analyses for operating, capital and project budgets.
While working at Vanderbilt, he also earned a master’s in business administration, in 2006, from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
