UCLA fires top finance offer, saying he made inaccurate claims about campus budget

"UCLA fires its chief financial officer CFO Stephen Agostini after he gave a student newspaper an interview saying the campus has a $425-million deficit that he blamed in part on faculty and academic programs. The university disputes his statement, saying the deficit is substantially lower and stems from broader institutional and external factors. Faculty leaders are demanding budget transparency and accountability."

"Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Agostini, who had overseen UCLA's $11-billion budget since May 2024, "will no longer serve in his role, effective immediately," Chancellor Julio Frenk wrote in a brief campuswide message, announcing an interim appointment and a national search for a replacement. Agostini suggested that UCLA's annual financial reports going back to 2002 were incorrect, saying he saw "very serious errors" - a charge UCLA officials deny."

"The abrupt change came days after Agostini gave an interview to the Daily Bruin student newspaper saying the campus had "financial management flaws and failures" predating his arrival, leading to what he said was a $425-million deficit. In the interview, Agostini blamed financial woes on faculty and staff raises, academic departments' requests for new positions and expanded programs, and UCLA athletics, which has run in the red for multiple years."

UCLA terminated Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Agostini after he publicly reported a $425-million campus deficit and criticized financial management. Agostini had overseen an $11-billion budget since May 2024 and attributed shortfalls to faculty and staff raises, academic departments' hiring and program expansion, and losses in athletics. He alleged long-standing errors in annual financial reports dating to 2002. UCLA officials dispute his figures, characterize the deficit as substantially lower, and attribute fiscal strain to institutional and external factors including rising operating costs and weaker state funding. Chancellor Julio Frenk announced an interim appointment and a national search.

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