Dear Colleagues,
It is my pleasure to announce that Thomas (Tom) Lowry will be joining Student Affairs as the chief financial officer (CFO) for our division, effective April 17. Tom was selected following a competitive search process and brings extensive experience from his impressive 30-year career in financial management for diverse, complex organizations. He most recently served as CFO for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C.
Throughout his career, which has included leadership roles in the Air Force and TACG, LLC, Tom has blended strong financial management and strategic planning with an ability to effectively connect with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels of the organizations he has served. I am looking forward to partnering with Tom as we strategically re-think the financial operations of the division, meet our budget improvement targets, and right our structural deficit.
You may recall that a few years ago we took advantage of an opportunity to try and reduce costs by combining the CFO and chief of staff roles. Given the workloads and the demands of the division — including the need to comprehensively and strategically address our financial planning — we now require two separate roles to meet our needs.
In addition to Tom’s extensive experience successfully guiding organizations through the development and implementation of new budget structures, he also believes in mentoring professional staff to build the future, and his current team enjoys one of the highest employee satisfaction ratings in his federal agency, making him an excellent fit for our division as we continue to build pride, trust, and community.
Tom earned his master’s degree in operational art and science from the Air University and a master’s of public administration from Golden State University. He received his bachelor of arts degree in political science and economics from Ohio State University.
Please join me in welcoming Tom to his new role. We look forward to having him be a part of the Student Affairs team.
Best Regards,
Stephen C. Sutton, Ed.D.
Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
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