Simon White

Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration

Biography

Simon J. White FCCA is the Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration at the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA). Simon has worked at The University of Arizona for 15 years in a variety of departments holding financial and business positions including Director of Business Services and Managing Director. His last role was in Facilities Management heading up the Business Services Division.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Simon grew up in a small village called Elloughton, about 30 miles south of York in Yorkshire. He attended university at Coventry University in the West Midlands, U.K. where he received a Bachelor of Arts with a strong emphasis on geography and urban planning. Upon graduating he returned to his origin of Yorkshire to work in Leeds as a trainee accountant employed in the utility and financial services sectors. He qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant which is the UK equivalent of a CPA. In his spare time Simon enjoys spending time with his 11 year old daughter, Anna, going to the Tucson Racquet Club, and travelling. He has been to India, Southeast Asia, Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand, to name a few. He came to the United States in October 1997 after he met his wife, Winnie, on the Magic Bus in New Zealand, a backpackers tour bus, and has been here ever since.

With over 20 years experience in strategic business management, finance, accounting, budgeting, contracting, risk management and human resources, Simon looks forward to the challenges that CAPLA has to offer him along with being part of a great team. He has worked with a breadth of budgets from $4 million within the University to $2 billion in the UK. He is focused on business development and identifying funding sources necessary to meet CAPLA’s as well as the University’s mission. Simon was able to save UITS $185,000 per year by streamlining the invoice paying process for vendors and brought UA Presents from a deficit of $350,000 to a profit of $100,000 within one business year. Outside of the University, he is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountant in the UK.