University of Memphis CFO Raaj Kurapati moving over to UTHSC

The University of Memphis will be seeking a new CFO and COO, while the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is gaining an experienced higher education executive this fall.

Five years after joining the U of M, Raaj Kurapati is moving over to UTHSC to become that institution's executive vice chancellor and COO.

He replaces Kennard Brown, Ph.D., who retired at the end of February after a 25-year career with the University of Tennessee.

At the U of M, Kurapati oversaw the administrative and financial units of the U of M, and at UTHSC, he is set to fulfill a similar role of heading up the campus’ central administration and its day-to-day operations and management. 

“We are delighted to have Raaj join the UTHSC team. … The wealth of experience he brings, along with his deep understanding of our community and the state, will complement our stellar leadership team and will be instrumental to moving the vision set forth in our new strategic plan," UTHSC chancellor Dr. Peter Buckley said in a press release.

UTHSC has more than 3,100 students and is the largest health care educator in the state of Tennessee. The university houses six colleges at its main campus in Memphis, including Dentistry, Health Professions, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy.

Prior to joining the University of Memphis, Kurapati was CFO and vice president of Finance at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and has 20 years of experience in higher education administration and finance.

Kurapati joins a university headed up by Buckley, who became chancellor of UTHSC in early 2022. He has built out his executive team since then, adding Paul Wesolowski as vice chancellor for strategic partnerships and Brigitte Grant as the vice chancellor for advancement — both announced by UTHSC in March.