President Robert A. Coons has appointed Tyler D. Kearney, PhD, as the new vice president and chief business officer of the Institute, effective April 17. In this capacity, he is a member of Coons’ administrative council and contributes to the college’s financial and operational supervision.
Kearney has been associate vice president of finance and administration at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge for six years.
Chief Operating Officer and Vice President Tyler Kearney
He provided leadership for procurement services, property management, and auxiliary services (including the bookstore, campus dining, student union, and campus theater) and coordinates budget and financial reporting for the entire system. During his tenure at LSU, he also provided support for residential life and human resources management.
Coons stated, “Tyler’s experiences will be valuable as we continue to develop and then implement initiatives within the Institute’s long-term strategic plan that build on our past successes and meet future challenges in higher education.”
Kearney began his nearly 20-year tenure in higher education with leadership roles in the Office of Planning and Budgeting at the University of Illinois, where he was responsible for budget development and reporting, institutional research, and strategic planning. He earned a doctorate in higher education, a master’s degree in business administration, and a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science and finance while attending the University of Illinois.
Throughout his professional career, Kearney has contributed to scholarly articles published in Research in Higher Education, The Journal of Higher Education, Economics of Education Review, and The Journal for Education Finance, and he has presented at multiple higher education finance conferences, including one for which he received the Best Paper Award.