NIDCD Budget Officer Rotariu Bids Farewell After 32 Years

After 32 years at NIH, Mark Rotariu, budget officer at NIDCD, retired recently.

During his tenure at NIDCD, Rotariu served NIH in a variety of leadership roles, including the administrative restructuring advisory committee, the administrative training committee and the NIEHS management review team. He provided senior executive leadership to other parts of NIH in an acting capacity, including deputy executive officer at NEI, associate director for budget for NIH and executive officer at ORS and ORF. He also volunteered at the Children’s Inn at NIH, serving on its finance committee.

In addition to his career roles, Rotariu was involved in other NIH activities. He led the men’s softball league, managed a team and played for many years; served as secretary of the R&W Association; served as a member of the NIH Federal Credit Union credit committee; and was a member of the NIH Sailing Club. He received several awards, including an NIH Director’s Award, NIH Merit Award, NIDCD Award of Excellence, NLM Director’s Award and NHLBI Merit Award.

“It has been my honor to work side-by-side with Mark and to have the opportunity to learn from him and gain from his valuable experience,” said Timothy Wheeles, NIDCD executive officer. “Mark’s involvement and commitment to the NIH mission have been great assets to the NIH community and his strong expertise and leadership on all things budget have been an incredible resource to both myself and other leaders of the institute.”

Rotariu began his career in the budget office of the National Heart and Lung Institute (predecessor to NHLBI), where he advanced from budget clerk to deputy budget officer while earning a degree in political science from American University. He graduated from AU in 1979.

In 1981, he joined the National Library of Medicine as budget officer. During his tenure there, Rotariu helped defend NLM’s pricing policies for its biomedical information products and services from vigorous attack by a foreign publishing firm. In recognition, he received the first annual NLM Director’s Award. While at NLM, he also earned a master’s degree in public administration from AU.

In 1988, he was appointed executive officer at the National Center for Nursing Research, a new center at the time, where he hired key administrative managers, secured resources and developed policies and procedures.

After 17 years at NIH, Rotariu left to work for a pharmaceutical company and a biotech firm and earned a master of business administration degree from Rutgers University. He returned to NIH in 2002 and finished his last 15 years as budget officer at NIDCD.

At his retirement celebration, Rotariu’s two children, Elizabeth and Jack, surprised him with speeches. They both mentioned that he wanted to do many things while he was working and he’d always say, “When I retire…” His plans include continuing to follow Washington sports teams and traveling.