Jon Rueter is Senior Business Manager for the Finance & Operations team at UCSF's Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).
How long have you been working at UCSF?
11 years
What do you do at UCSF and how is it connected to the UCSF mission?
I manage the centralized CTSI Finance team and, along with CAO Sally Mead, oversee the department's finances. I see my role as connected to the UCSF mission through the value our team adds with accurate, timely information, and analysis to promote informed decision-making.
What are the most challenging and rewarding parts of your job?
In relation to other positions I have held at UCSF, the breadth of collaborations for CTSI projects is simply massive. This carries with it the reward of exposure to many organizations, other UC campuses, just about every department at UCSF, and scores of interesting people. The pace of change is quick, the problems are unorthodox, and the unknowns are many; however, all these things plus exceptional coworkers and teammates make it very exciting and fun!
What do you like most about working at CTSI and in finance?
I love getting to be part of a dynamic organization like CTSI that leads and supports innovation. Whether it's working to support projects through the UCSF Center for Healthcare Value, providing linkages to industry experts for early translational researchers, or implementing a simple but game-changing technological tool to help researchers find each other easier, the work CTSI does inspires me to want to do the best job I can. Budgets and finances are a critical ingredient to any project, and it's humbling to act in service to such great work.
What are some things that people may not know about the work you do?
I don't know if other people see finances and post-award administration this way, but a big component of the work concerns ordering and organizing information. It's very gratifying to me to try to control the chaos that sometimes may occur.
If you chose another career path outside UCSF what would it be?
Film/TV composer is my alternative career path of choice.
What's something that members of the UCSF community would be surprised to know about you?
That I like to write and play music and that, astrologically speaking, I am a triple cancer, which I am told is rare (but not especially desirable).
What are your favorite things to do with your free time?
Spending time with our dog, Louie, is high on my list. That and dinner with friends and watching only the very best bad TV.
CTSI Spotlight is part of an ongoing series that offers an opportunity for faculty and staff to learn more about the wide range of people who make CTSI's work possible. See all featured faculty and staff.