Announcing Justin Pickens as Director of the Budget Office Services

Dear FAS colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Justin Pickens has accepted the role of Budget Director effective 12/1/2022. As Budget Director, Justin will lead the development of the university's roughly $3.6 billion operating budget and for providing strategic planning, financial reporting, financial analysis, and fiscal analysis of proposed and actual legislation affecting the university.

Justin has over eight years of experience leading teams, developing budgets, enhancing efficiencies, and providing financial counsel and analysis to large financial and governmental organizations. Justin comes to us from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) where he most recently served as Budget Director, responsible for the development, implementation, and management of the agency's $86.7 billion biennial budget.

Justin began his career with HHS in 2014 at the Department of Aging and Disability Services, which became part of HHSC during the consolidation of HHS in 2017. During transformation, Justin was instrumental in advancing budget management down the path of automation and efficiency with an emphasis on organization and policy. He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's in philosophy and history and earned a Master of Business Administration from Concordia University Texas.

"I am excited to return to my alma mater to serve as the new Budget Director and to leverage my expertise on behalf of the university as we move into a new legislative session," said Justin. "I look forward to participating in strategic planning and contributing to operational excellence at UT Austin.”

I would like to also take this opportunity to thank Corina Elizondo, who stepped in as interim Budget Director, for her leadership of the Budget Office these past few months while we conducted our candidate search for a permanent director.

Please join me in welcoming Justin to the Budget Office and to FAS in his new leadership role.

Regards,

Darrell Bazzell (he/him/his)
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
The University of Texas at Austin