Washington - Today, Howard University announced that Karol Kain Gray will serve as the University’s interim chief financial officer, effective Monday, July 29. A nationally recognized strategic leader with more than 40 years of experience in higher education finance, operations, and management, Gray will succeed Stephen Graham, who left the University in June after three years of service. 

Prior to joining the University, Gray served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where she retired in February 2024 after eight years. At VCU, Gray was responsible for oversight of operating and capital budgets, treasury services, cash and debt management, financial records, financial controls, financial reporting, procurement and payroll services, and grants and contracts accounting. Before her time at VCU, Gray was the vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, she managed a $2.5 billion budget with responsibilities ranging from financial operations, treasury function, and auxiliary operations to facilities services. Her career has also included stops at Stony Brook University in New York, where Gray rose through the ranks to become vice president for finance and administration and chief fiscal officer with responsibilities for the financial, budget, and administrative operations of the university, including its health science center. Gray also served as chief financial officer at Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., a public biotech company headquartered in Stony Brook. 

Gray earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Hofstra University. She is also the recipient of the 2011 Long Island’s Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business Award; a board member of the Coram Center for Developmentally Disabled Adults Inc.; and a member of several professional organizations, including the National Association of College and University Business Officers, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE); and a former member of the State University Business Officers Association. 

“We once again express our gratitude to Stephen Graham for his service as CFO and are excited to welcome Karol Kain Gray in an interim role during our ongoing search for a permanent appointee,” Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D. said in a letter to the University community. “We will keep the community abreast regarding further updates.”

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