UVAFinance Welcomes Abdul Opeloyeru to the Planning and Analysis team.

Abdul at Blue Ridge Parkway Overlook

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Abdul Opeloyeru's path into finance began with a personal experience that shaped his career. Growing up, he watched his father’s business face major financial challenges due to poor money management. Seeing the impact that experience had on his family inspired him to pursue a career in finance, with the goal of helping people and organizations build stronger financial stability.

 
Abdul earned his bachelor's degree in finance and banking from Lagos State University and immediately launched his career in Investment Research at TrustBanc Financial Group. There, he conducted company valuations and developed recommendations for institutional and unit investors. After about 2 years in Investment research, he decided to pursue an advanced, specialized master’s degree in finance at the University of Iowa.

During graduate school, Abdul managed a $26 million endowment fund, focusing on the real estate and financial services sectors of the portfolio, and presented investment recommendations to an experienced board of asset managers. Although he appreciated the analytical and technical side of corporate finance, he realized he wanted to work where the impact felt more visible and personal.

 
“I wanted to deploy my financial training and expertise in environments with much larger impact, whether that means supporting students, quality patient care, or larger institutional missions,” says Abdul

That realization led him to higher education finance. At the University of Iowa, he served as a financial analyst for a clinical department, supporting operational budget, grants, and healthcare-related financial operations before relocating to the East Coast.

Now at UVA, Abdul is excited to apply his background in planning and analysis to work that supports the broader university community.

“What drew me to UVA was the structure of UVA Finance and the opportunity to contribute to financial planning at a high level across Grounds,” he says. “As I settle into the role, I’m excited to learn from experienced colleagues, build relationships across Grounds, and find ways to contribute to the great work already happening at UVA.”

 
In his first few weeks at UVA, he has already noticed a strong sense of collaboration and support within the organization.

 
“I can already tell there is a real commitment to excellence and service here,” he shares. “Everyone has been welcoming, helpful, and invested in helping new employees succeed.”

 
Outside of work, Abdul is passionate about soccer, or football, as he jokingly insists it should be called. He previously played professionally, then decided to pursue finance full-time, and remains a devoted Liverpool supporter and fan of Lionel Messi. In his free time, he also enjoys reading and solving puzzles. 

We are excited to welcome Abdul to UVA Finance and look forward to the experience and perspective he brings to the team.

T&E Card Management Downtime Scheduled for June 18-24

T&E Card Request Functions Temporarily Unavailable June 18–24

Existing T&E Cards will continue to work normally during this period.

The Travel & Expense Team will be launching enhancements to the T&E Card program on June 25 that move card applications and management processes into Workday.

To support this transition, T&E Card request and management functions will be temporarily unavailable from June 18–24, 2026.

Current T&E Cards will continue to function normally for approved business purchases during this time. No action is required for existing cardholders unless you anticipate needing a card-related change during the downtime period.

What Will Be Affected?

During the downtime period, users will not have access to process:

• New T&E Card Applications
• Spending Limit Changes
• Leave Requests
• Card Cancellations
• Department Transfers
• Other T&E Card Management Requests

Please Note: T&E Card request forms will be unavailable from June 18–24 and cannot be submitted during that time.

How to Prepare

If you anticipate needing a new T&E Card or card-related changes in June, we encourage you to submit requests as early as possible.

All requests must be approved by June 17 at 4:00 p.m. to be in effect during the downtime period.

Critical Business Need?
If an urgent card-related issue arises during the downtime period, please email AskFinance@virginia.edu for guidance.

What Happens After June 24?

Beginning June 25, T&E Card requests and management activities will transition to a new Workday-based process that will provide:

• Enhanced request visibility
• Streamlined approval routing
• Improved card management capabilities

Looking Ahead
Additional information, resources, and communications will be shared as the launch date approaches.

Questions?

Email AskFinance@virginia.edu.

______________________________________

Related News: T&E Card Enhancements Moving Toward Launch

Michael Phillips Selected for NACUBO Fellows Program

Congratulations Michael!

We are proud to celebrate Michael Phillips on his selection to the 2026-2027 National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Fellows Program, one of higher education's renowned leadership development opportunities for business and finance professionals. 

As assistant vice president and university controller at UVA, Phillips joins an accomplished national cohort of 18 higher education leaders chosen for this immersive year-long program. The NACUBO Fellows Program is designed to prepare leaders for chief business officer roles by strengthening strategic leadership and management expertise through collaboration with university presidents, provosts, and senior financial officers from across the country. 

Since its founding in 2016, the program has helped develop dozens of higher education leaders who now serve as chief business officers at colleges and universities nationwide.

Congratulations to Phillips on this amazing achievement and well-deserved recognition of his leadership contributions to the realm of higher-ed finance. 

To read more about the NACUBO Fellows Program, check out this link.

Anaplan Updates: Training is Coming!

As we move closer to Anaplan go-live, several important activities are underway to help prepare users and support a successful transition from Adaptive. The updates below include information about upcoming training opportunities, key data conversion considerations, and actions units can take now in advance of the July 31 conversion deadline.

Self-Paced Training is Coming Soon

Only users with active Adaptive access will receive a notification when the training becomes available and how to enroll.

• As part of this rollout, the FIN-BI team will enroll users in the Anaplan training workspace, where both self-paced and instructor-led training will take place. Users will receive an email notification from Anaplan like the example shown below.

Example Anaplan email notification

Data Conversion

The FIN-BI team has created a source on the Anaplan Transformation site titled Academic Anaplan Overview for Budget Managers, which is a high-level overview of key changes, planning expectations, and behavior shifts for budget analysts, managers, and leads. This document is not a comprehensive training guide.

While it is important to review this document in preparation for go-live, we want to highlight the Year-One Conversion Notes and Planning Considerations, along with actions you can take now to support data cleanup efforts:

Actions You Can Take Now

Adaptive Input Sheet Notes

Adaptive Input Sheet Notes will not convert to Anaplan. These notes will be archived and made available to units as needed. If there are any current or relevant notes tied to a budget record, they should be moved to the Description field in Adaptive.

This must be completed by July 31 for the information to convert as a budget note in Anaplan.

Position-Employee Conversion

Only active position-employees will convert to the Base and State Bonus, Supplemental, or Wage planning pages in Anaplan. All others will convert to Pooled Labor. The FIN-BI Team will provide impacted units with a list of costing record limit exceptions within the next two weeks.

• If you have budgeted against an employee who is no longer in the position, we recommend cleaning this up in Adaptive prior to July 31.
• Similarly, if an employee is linked to an invalid or outdated position, please update the position association in Adaptive before July 31.

Costing Records Limit

Position-employees will be limited to 10 costing records. Currently, there are over 500 costing exceptions exceeding this threshold. The FIN-BI Team will provide impacted units with a list of costing record limit exceptions within the next two weeks.

Please review and clean up these records, where applicable, prior to July 31.

HCM Salary Exceptions

Some position-employees have salaries in Adaptive that do not align with their Workday HCM salary (e.g., Adaptive shows $125,000 while Workday reflects $50,000). The FIN-BI Team will provide impacted units with a list of costing record limit exceptions within the next two weeks.

• These discrepancies can be corrected in the Working Budget version in Adaptive by July 31.
• If not addressed, we will provide a listing of these exceptions, as they will impact Workforce Planning reconciliation efforts between Adaptive and Anaplan.

Budget Office Hours

Please join us at Budget Office Hours on June 10^th as we dive into these areas in further detail.

Professional Development Corner June 2026

Professional Development Corner

Contributed by Patty Marbury, Director of Training and Development, UVAFinance

Note: Remember to discuss all professional development opportunities with your manager prior to applying for any funds. See below for more information on the Education Benefit.

Small Habits, Big Growth

Make a plan!

Professional development often happens through small actions repeated consistently over time—asking questions, trying new approaches, reflecting on experiences, or making time to learn something new in small doses.

These habits may seem minor in the moment, but over time they build confidence, strengthen skills, and create momentum. A few intentional minutes spent reading an article, listening to a podcast, or completing a short online course, can have a lasting impact when practiced consistently.

In busy times especially, small steps can make development feel more manageable and sustainable. Growth doesn’t always require major changes; sometimes the smallest habits lead to the biggest progress. So this month, choose one small learning habit to focus on this month—something realistic, repeatable, and easy to build into your routine.

Professional Development Opportunities

To help with your planning, following is information about a variety of workshops, courses, and resources to support your ongoing growth. While some opportunities are free and others may have a fee, many do not require travel. Please feel free to share other opportunities you come across and I’ll include them in future communications!

Coursera

Remember that we have access to Coursera, and an online learning platform that offers a wide range of courses, specializations, certifications, and degree programs from universities and institutions around the world. UVA has a university-wide subscription for Coursera. Check it out and start learning!

EDUCAUSE Events

What is EDUCAUSE? From their website: “EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to lead the way, advancing the strategic use of technology and data to further the promise of higher education. We connect and empower our member community through insights, advocacy, resources, and learning opportunities to anticipate trends and strengthen professional practice.”

NACUBO*

Washington Updates

• June 29, 2-3 pm ET
• April 6 Recording

Conferences and Forums

• NACUBO 2026 Annual Meeting – July 18-21 in Anaheim, CA
• Virtual Option – July 20-21
• 2026 Planning, Budgeting, and Analytics Forum – October 5-7 in San Diego, CA (Coronado)
• Virtual Option – October 5-7
• 2026 Tax Forum – October 25-27 in Indianapolis, IN
• Online Events - unless indicated, the session is free to NACUBO members, which we are, although you need an individual account.* Some also offer CPE credits.
• Recordings

Self-Paced Courses and Microlearning

• Strategic Higher Education Finance and Planning ($595)
• F&A Short Form ($150)
• Essentials of College and University Accounting ($125)
• Facilities Management ($49)
• Endowment Fundamentals ($49)
• New to Higher Education ($49)

Podcasts

• Career Conversations
• NACUBO in Brief

*Individual NACUBO membership is free through UVA’s institutional membership. To join go to nacubo.org and click on “Login or Join”. From the Login box, click on “Don’t have an account” and fill out the form. In the “Primary Affiliate” field enter “University of Virginia” and select the appropriate affiliate.

SACUBO

• College Business Management Institute – July 26-31 in Lexington, KY (Late registration ends July 21 and the cost is $1025 for the session.)
• 2026 Fall Conference – November 11-13, Myrtle Beach, SC (Save the date; more info coming soon!)
• Did you know?  Through UVA's institutional membership, you have access to lots of SACUBO opportunities.  Read more on the blog.

EACUBO

• Higher Education Leadership Program – August 10-13, 2026, at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY ($2,999)
• 2026 Annual Meeting – October 12-15, 2026, Buffalo, NY (Save the date; more info coming soon!)

The Chronicle of Higher Education

• Professional Development Programs
• Virtual Events (many are on-demand and/or free)

Additional Organizations and Resources

NCCI (Network for Change and Continuous Innovation) - NCCI positions higher education institutions to be agile, lifelong learning models to transform lives and communities around the world. All efforts of NCCI trace back to the goal of advancing sustainable excellence in higher education by promoting successful practices and approaches used to drive change, innovation, and continuous improvement across academic and administrative functions.

AGA - is the association that connects and empowers professionals who support government, from financial management to IT, human resources, cybersecurity and more, to advance good government initiatives, grow their expertise and accelerate their careers. (Requires membership.)

LearnBFSI (several interesting for fee courses – note this company is in Australia.)

UVA Organizations

• UVA Organizational Excellence has many learning opportunities, resources, and articles.
• Staying Connected Across Grounds: Organizational Knowledge and Information – June 16 11:00-12:00, Shannon Library, Room 330
• Subscribe to OE’s newsletter.
• UVA Miller Center always has interesting programs.
• UVA Human Resources offers many free programs and courses.
• Learning Tracks | UVA HR – HR has created three learning tracks: Aspiring Managers, New Managers, and Personal Growth (for individual contributors.) These are about a year-long commitment and requires completion of an online form.
• LinkedIn Learning - Human Resources also has links to microlearning courses and to LinkedIn Learning. (Participating in these courses does not require submitting a Professional Development Request Form.)
• UVA Darden Executive Education – Several programs are (with the 50% discount for UVA staff) are under $2,000. Use the discount code UVA50 when registering. (The prices listed are for the full cost.) See the Darden Executive Education program schedule for upcoming dates.
• UVA’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) offers many Certificate programs.

Other Institutions

• Harvard Business School Online offers multi-course credentials and certificate programs – many are less than $2000.
• University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business online programs; many are $1,000 or less.
• Stanford University Executive Education – the self-paced programs are $1,500.

Education Benefit

Each year you have $2,000 of centrally-funded education benefit for professional development or $5,250 to use for tuition toward a degree-seeking program. See https://hr.virginia.edu/career-development/education-benefits-1 for more information. (To be eligible for this benefit, you must have had six months of service in a benefits-eligible position at UVA by the start date of the class, with the intent to remain on the active payroll during the entire term of the class.)

UVAFinance team members – if you have questions about Professional Development opportunities, please contact Patty Marbury, pam5w@virginia.edu.

Article on Leadership

The Top 20 Leadership Challenges--this informative article provides many links to other articles and resources. (Center for Creative Leadership)

Please feel free to share other opportunities you come across and I’ll include them in future communications!

__________________________________________________________

Related Content: Microsoft Copilot Workshop at UVA School of Data; Organizational Excellence Building Connections Workshop

Microsoft Copilot Workshop - June 25

Join us!

Looking to get more value out of your everyday work and increase productivity? Microsoft Copilot can help! UVA Information Technology Services (ITS) is hosting a hands-on Microsoft Copilot workshop designed to help faculty and staff utilize Copilot for their daily workflows. 

Event Details

• Date: Thursday, June 25
• Time: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
• Location: UVA School of Data Science, Classroom 305
• Cost: Free!
• In-person, interactive sessions

What You'll Learn 

Copilot 101: Foundations & Everyday Use

• Learn how to access and navigate Microsoft Copilot 
• Explore core capabilities across M365 tools like Outlook 
• Understand real-world use cases to boost productivity 
• Get introduced to newer features such as Outlook grounding and Office agents 

Agent 101: Building Your First Copilot Agent 

• Learn how to create simple Copilot agents 
• Explore practical scenarios for automation and customization 
• Understand how to extend Copilot to meet your specific needs 

Flexible Session Options 

Attend one or more sessions depending on your schedule: 

• Morning Track
• 9:00 - 10:30 AM: Copilot 101
• 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Agent 101 
• Afternoon Track 
• 1:30 - 3:00 PM: Copilot 101
• 3:30 - 5:00 PM: Agent 101

Why Attend?

Through attending these sessions, you'll gain practical skills you can use immediately in your everyday work, while building confidence with AI-powered tools in Microsoft 365. You'll learn directly from Microsoft-led instruction to explore how Copilot can streamline communication, content creation, and workflows. 

How to Register

• Reserve your spot via Eventbrite (limited capacity)
• Eventbrite link to register 

Join Organizational Excellence on June 16: Building Connections Through Knowledge Sharing

As UVA continues to grow, effective communication and knowledge sharing across departments, schools, and teams are more important than ever. 

Join Organizational Excellence on June 16 for an interactive discussion exploring how information moves across the University and how we can strengthen collaboration, learning, and connection across Grounds.

Presenter: Peer-to-peer sharing and learning

When: June 16, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Shannon Library, Room 330
Register Now

Participants will share experiences, discuss what is working well, identify challenges, and explore questions such as what types of information are most valuable, how knowledge is accessed and shared across the University, and where opportunities exist to strengthen communication and connection across roles, teams, and departments. 

Together, attendees will consider how UVA can foster greater shared understanding and organizational learning in support of its mission.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to register and join the conversation.