Curtis Reynolds, Vice President for Business Affairs

Curtis A. Reynolds is Vice President for Business Affairs for the University of Florida, where he is responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of a diversified portfolio of campus support services and operations. The departments reporting to Curtis are Business Services, Environmental Health and Safety, Emergency Management, Campus Planning, Design and Construction, Office of Sustainability, Facilities Services, Small Business and Vendor Diversity, Stephen C. O’Connell Center, and the University Police Department.

Curtis joined the University of Florida in June 2010 with more than 15 years of higher education experience in business affairs and operational services. Prior to joining UF, Curtis was Vice Provost for Administration at Miami Dade College, where he was responsible for central business affairs on eight campuses with more than 165,000 students throughout Miami-Dade County. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Curtis was Executive Director for Administration responsible for Administration and Finance, Human Resources, Energy Management and Information Technology.

Curtis holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Curtis holds an MBA from the University of Alabama. He is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Association of Higher Education Officers.

Melissa Curry, Interim Vice President for Human Resources

Melissa Curry assumed the role of interim vice president for Human Resources effective July 1.

A 23-year veteran at UF, Curry previously served as assistant vice president for Human Resources, overseeing the areas of Talent Acquisition and Onboarding, Employment Operations and Records, Immigration Services, Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance, Classification and Compensation, Workforce Analytics, and the Office of Strategic Initiatives.

Prior to her current role, Curry also served as the UFHR director of Recruitment and Staffing, where she led a number of system implementations, including ePAF, UF’s electronic personnel action form; GatorStart, UF’s online onboarding system; and Interfolio, an applicant tracking system designed to enhance the faculty experience. Curry also led the recruitment efforts for the Faculty 500 initiative and launched the Strategic Talent Group, an internal executive search group created to assist with UF’s high-level and difficult-to-fill positions.

Curry earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and obtained her master’s degree in higher education administration at UF. She is also a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SPHR-SCP).

Elias Eldayrie, Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Elias G. Eldayrie has been the Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the University of Florida since 2010. During his tenure, Eldayrie has helped drive UF’s rise as the nation’s top-6 public university and its emerging leadership in artificial intelligence in higher education. He led that effort through modernizing and expanding UF’s complete suite of research, student, and institutional computing systems.

Under Eldayrie’s leadership, UF has created a world-class research computing environment. At its core is HiPerGator, a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence supercomputer created in partnership with NVIDIA. HiPerGator supports more than half of the projects in UF’s $942 million research portfolio. It is the central element of the university’s artificial intelligence initiative to educate the AI workforce of the future — an initiative that is unique in higher education.

Eldayrie modernized UF’s student computing services, including the teaching and learning services that underpin the university’s growing online education programs. He redesigned UF’s IT resources and governance to align with UF’s strategic goals to become a top-5 national public university and one of the nation’s most comprehensive. He has expanded UF’s IT operation and today oversees a $100 million budget and more than 500 IT professionals.

In addition to his leadership at UF, Eldayrie oversaw the implementation of one of the first 100-gig ethernet networks in the nation. He led the deployment of one Wi-Fi system at UF locations across all 67 counties in Florida. He serves on the Boards of Florida LambdaRail, EDUCAUSE and Unizin and in other leadership positions pursuing state and national IT priorities, including information security.

Before arriving at UF, Eldayrie served as the Chief Information Officer at the University at Buffalo, New York’s largest public AAU university, where he spent 23 years building his career. He holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University at Buffalo. When not at his desk, he enjoys teaching a class in leadership at UF’s Warrington College of Business and joining his family in cheering for the Gators.

Trevor Schneider, Assistant Vice President, Office of Real Estate

Trevor Schneider is the Assistant Vice President for the Office of Real Estate for the University of Florida, where he is charged with the leadership and strategic direction for the Office of Real Estate (ORE). ORE is responsible for the acquisitions and sales of real estate for the University and affiliated entities, formulation of real estate strategies, negotiation of real estate lease transactions, marketing existing and future University real estate/land developments, managing and tracking existing assets, overseeing state land issues, and executing on the real estate aspects of economic development initiatives. Mr. Schneider joined the University of Florida in December 2018 with more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience.

Prior to the University, Mr. Schneider was the founder and Director of Real Estate for Schneider Real Estate Advisors, LLC, and oversaw the firm’s Commercial Real Estate Acquisition and Disposition Advisory Services, Development Advisory Services, Tenant Advisory Services, and Property Management Services. Mr. Schneider has been involved in the completion of over $910 million in commercial real estate acquisitions and investment sales over the past twenty years. In addition, Mr. Schneider has represented corporate clients in the procurement of over 5 million square feet of leased commercial space, including office, industrial, retail, and data center asset classes.

Mr. Schneider holds a Master of Science degree in corporate real estate from Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Schneider completed his undergraduate work at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance and economics. Mr. Schneider served honorably in the United States Air Force and has completed comprehensive foreign language studies at the Presidio of Monterey/Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.

Dhanesh Raniga, Chief Audit Executive, Office of Internal Audit

Dhanesh Raniga is the University’s Chief Audit Executive. He was previously the Director of Audit, Risk and Compliance at Griffith University, a comprehensive public university in Australia. Prior to joining Griffith University in 2015, Dhanesh was one of the leaders in Ernst & Young’s Risk Advisory Services’ practice for Education, Not for Profit and Healthcare sectors based in Los Angeles.

Dhanesh has been involved in leadership roles in the education, government services, and provider care areas providing advisory services in internal auditing, business performance improvement, enterprise risk management, organizational restructuring, and compliance. He has deep knowledge of the university higher education administrative and academic organization structures and has undertaken assignments to assist clients in rationalizing operations, reviewing internal controls, and improving services. He has significant experience in leading and transforming internal audit and risk management functions by incorporating leading practices and having an insight-driven approach to auditing that is aligned with the organization’s strategic risks.

Dhanesh is a member of the Australian Institute of Certified Practicing Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Information Systems and Control Association.

Russell Froman, Assistant Vice President, Office for Accessibility and Gender Equity

Russell Froman is currently the assistant vice president for the Office for Accessibility and Gender Equity.

Froman has 25 years of experience working in university settings, including as an administrator at UF’s P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, associate dean at Mars Hill University, assistant director of Student Activities at UF and, most recently, as UF’s Accessibility and Gender Equity coordinator.

In his current role, Froman is responsible for monitoring, supervising and overseeing all compliance with Accessibility and Gender Equity for the university, including all UF direct support organizations and affiliates. He coordinates all campus-based programs related to Accessibility and Gender Equity for the university as well.

Originally from Seminole, Florida, Froman holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Auburn University, a master’s degree in educational psychology and counseling from Florida State University, a doctorate in higher education administration from UF and a Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University.

Carrie Blanchard Bush, Chief of Staff

A native Floridian, Carrie Blanchard Bush has worked in the fields of local government, economic development, and higher education for the past 15 years.  During that time, she has served in several roles, including as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Tallahassee, the Director of Research and Public Policy for the Florida Chamber Foundation and as an Assistant Professor in Public Administration at Appalachian State University.  Currently, Carrie serves as the Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer at the University of Florida, where she is responsible for leading and aligning administrative projects.

Carrie received a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from the University of Miami, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Miami, and a doctorate in public administration from Florida State University.  Carrie is an active member of the Gainesville community, including serving as a member of the Alachua County Public Schools Half Cent Tax Oversight Committee and the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area Advisory Board.