The University of California San Francisco has named Brian Smith as chief ethics and compliance officer (CECO), a role he has held in an interim capacity since November 2017. Smith’s appointment, which is retroactive to Oct. 1, will be served concurrently with his other new appointment as senior associate vice chancellor of research, the university announced.

In the CECO role, Smith will report directly to Chancellor Sam Hawgood and will also report secondarily to Alexander Bustamante, senior vice president and chief compliance and audit officer at University of California’s Office of the President. In the senior associate vice chancellor role, he will report to Lindsey Criswell, vice chancellor of research.

As CECO, Smith will continue to oversee a wide range of ethics and compliance-related matters for the UCSF Office of Ethics and Compliance, whose functions include UCSF Health compliance; privacy; research integrity; investigations; export control; FDA regulatory matters; financial conflicts of interest; and whistleblower retaliation complaints. The role is responsible for ensuring managers in all functional areas are accountable for maintaining compliance with applicable laws and regulations. He also represents the Office of Ethics and Compliance at campuswide and select UC systemwide committees, councils, and boards.

Smith’s experience in ethics and compliance began at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he was an attorney in the administrative law unit. After six years at the FBI, he shifted to administrative leadership at the University of Oregon, his alma mater, where he was assistant director of technology transfer, negotiating intellectual property contracts, and later assistant vice president for administration and chief of staff. He then served as assistant vice chancellor of health sciences affairs and chief operating officer at UC San Diego with responsibilities encompassing health sciences education, research, and general administration.

Smith joined UCSF in 2014 as associate vice chancellor of research infrastructure and operations, in which he was responsible for day-to-day operations, management, and oversight of many components of the research support functions, including research management services, government and business contracts, environment, health and safety, and laboratory animal research. In his new concurrent role as senior associate vice chancellor of research, he is part of the Office of Research leadership team and will continue to have direct responsibility for the Office of Environment, Health and Safety, the Human Research Protection Program, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Program, and the Laboratory Animal Resource Center.

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