Rick Wernoski

Rick Wernoski, is the Senior Vice Provost for Business Operations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wernoski is responsible for the design, implementation, execution, assessment and continuous improvement of the administrative activities within the Provost Office, as well as University-wide initiatives directed by the Provost, including the Operational Excellence initiative. He ensures that leadership, directors, and staff from across the university work together as a team, and as full partners in providing high-quality support of business operations. In addition, Wernoski has a secondary faculty appointment in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and teaches in the Financial Management of Health-System Pharmacy course.

Prior to joining the Office of the Provost, Wernoski served as Executive Vice Dean and Chief Operating Officer at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, responsible for all operational and financial aspects of the School and its institutes and centers. Wernoski joined the School in 2010 as the Executive Associate Dean for Administration and Chief Financial Officer responsible for finance, faculty affairs, research administration, human resources, facilities, communications, information technology and educational technology. He also served as Interim Associate Dean of Advancement from 2013 to 2014.

Before joining the School, Wernoski worked for 15 years at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He began as a budget analyst in the Department of Pharmacology and moved up to the position of Business Manager in the Department of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology. After 10 years in that capacity, he was named the medical school’s Executive Director for Administration and Operations, a position he held for four years before coming to Carolina.

Wernoski earned a bachelor’s degree in financial management from Clemson University and a Master of Public Administration from Kean University.