Kennedy returns to Outreach & Compliance

We couldn't resist the "New Adventures"joke.

This December, Christine E. Kennedy joined Finance Outreach and Compliance (FOC) as a Compliance Analyst. Kennedy is no stranger to compliance: she was on the compliance team when it was part of Sponsored Programs for nearly four years before moving to the University Audit Department three years ago.

In her new role, Kennedy will review, revise, and write policy and procedure, and make certain UVA well-positioned within the changing regulatory landscape. She describes her position as “her old job on steroids,” and as a role of service to the University community.



During her time in Audit and in her previous incarnation within compliance, Kennedy developed relationships with others in schools and units, and she looks forward to putting her experience to work in her new, expanded role.

Beyond her work in compliance and Audit, Kennedy has a diverse background at UVA. Nearly 13 years ago, she took her first UVA position in the Office of Development, and from there, she moved on to the Department of Chemistry, where she did fiscal work.

Her past experiences have sharpened her fondness for problem solving and finding solutions, especially because she can recall the struggle to correctly implement policies at a departmental level.

“I vividly remember sitting in Chemistry and trying to figure out what a policy or procedure meant to us and what we were supposed to do,” she said.

As a result, Kennedy says, she focuses on making connections with others, gathering information, and having helpful conversations in order to help everyone stay within the guardrails.

“My work in compliance is to help people understand what they need to do, and helping them sort through it to get to a better way of doing things. Compliance isn’t punitive – it’s all a learning experience!”