Ray Hayes is Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer of the University of Alabama System. A 35-plus year career veteran in higher education, Ray Hayes has been unanimously selected to succeed University of Alabama System Chancellor Robert Witt as CEO of the UA System in the fall of 2016.

In his current role, Ray Hayes is responsible for the overall fiscal integrity of UA System resources, working in partnership with the campus presidents and administrative teams at UA, UAB, UAH and the UAB Health System on finance, investments, physical properties, and human resource management. He coordinates the annual budget, leads institutional planning and the prioritization of initiatives, implements cost-cutting strategies and resource allocation and is responsible for budget requests to the executive and legislative branches of state government. He is also charged with the oversight of major construction projects on the three campuses and for the UAB Health System.

Hayes is the former vice president for Finance and Administration at Mississippi State University and executive vice president for Finance and Administration at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. He earned his bachelor’s and MBA degrees from Mississippi State and has held leadership roles with the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the Society for College and University Planning and other regional and national entities. Since 2012 he has been a member of the Board of Control of the State of Alabama Teachers Retirement System.