Leslie A. Kirwan ’79, the State of Massachusetts’ head finance official, has been named Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean for administration and finance, effective Nov. 2.

After decades working for the state government, Kirwan is a veteran of steering large organizations through fiscal crises: as the state’s secretary of administration and finance under Mass. Governor Deval L. Patrick ’78 for the past two years, Kirwan has helped close a series of billion-dollar deficits.

FAS Dean Michael D. Smith cited Kirwan’s “strong background” in fiscal management as a crucial quality she brings to her post in FAS, which is now facing a $110 million deficit.

“She has a history of building and leading strong administrative organizations,” Smith wrote in an e-mailed statement to The Crimson yesterday, noting Kirwan’s past work in organizations with “diverse” needs. “She is a strategic thinker and extremely well respected by those that worked with and for her.”

A former Cambridge resident who used to walk through the Yard every morning to high school, Kirwan said she is “very excited” to rejoin her alma mater as an administrator.

“The opportunity to match up my background at Harvard and my professional life was just too good to pass up,” Kirwan said in an interview with The Crimson on Friday. “I’m bursting with excitement to get to Harvard.”

As the secretary of administration and finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Kirwan has been responsible for developing the state capital budget and overseeing budgetary activities. In addition, Kirwan helped to implement the nation’s first statewide healthcare program that has aimed at universal coverage, as chair of the Health Connector board of directors.

Kirwan said that just as she has tried to make key investments at the state level in public education and healthcare in the face of gaping shortfalls, she hopes to confront the FAS’ remaining $110 million deficit as a challenge that requires her to both balance the budget and make “targeted investments.”

Her approach is reflective of Smith’s stated emphasis over the past few months of maintaining the quality of teaching and research in FAS while making cutbacks that will not affect the educational mission of the University.

“Economic cycles are an inevitable part of the job, and I would say that it requires discipline,” Kirwan said. “It’s important in all times to emphasize the sustainability of the core mission.”

Kirwan’s appointment comes after Smith announced in July that FAS Dean for Administration and Finance Brett C. Sweet would depart for Vanderbilt after less than a year at Harvard. With the key financial decision-maker slated to leave, Smith immediately began a national search for a permanent replacement. Smith said the search involved “a lot of candidates,” and declined to further elaborate on the process.

Until a replacement could be found, Catherine Gorodentsev—formerly the executive vice president’s chief of staff—assumed the interim role of FAS dean for administration, and Deena Giancotti—associate dean for finance—took up Sweet’s financial responsibilities.

Though Harvard has suffered from other recent departures—including those of former Executive Vice President Edward C. Forst ’82 and FAS IT Dean Lawrence M. Levine—Kirwan said she “would like to stay” at Harvard.

“I hope that I will be such a good fit at Harvard that it might be a long-term phase of my career,” Kirwan said.

She has been in communication with Smith and other FAS administrators about the post since August, she said. Though Kirwan will not officially begin her responsibilities until Nov. 2, she said she has reached out to professors she knows—including Economics Professor James H. Stock—so that she can start to build a network of faculty contacts, and she said she plans to review relevant readings and financial texts.