Amherst College Names Michael Thomas Chief Financial and Administrative Officer

AMHERST — Amherst College named Michael Thomas its new chief financial and administrative officer (CFAO). On the finance side, he will be responsible for all finance functions of the college, including budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, long-range financial planning, and asset, liability, and risk management. On the administrative side, Thomas will oversee facilities, health and safety, and business services (dining and auxiliary), among key operating functions.

He joins Amherst from Middlebury College, where he was vice president for Administration and chief risk officer for the past two years and vice president for Finance and assistant treasurer for the previous four and a half years. He will report to and serve as a strategic partner to President Michael Elliott. His appointment is effective March 27, and he succeeds former Amherst CFAO Kevin Weinman, who became the president of Marist College in the fall of 2021.

In his more than nine years at Middlebury, Thomas led all aspects of financial matters, including accounting, financial systems and reporting, budgets, debt and cash management, and endowment reporting, as well as risk evaluation, campus safety, environmental health and safety, emergency management, and land and property management. He led several critical initiatives for the Middlebury enterprise, including the institution’s COVID-19-related operations; a student safety coalition initiative at the college; the acquisition, financing, and renovation of a residential housing facility of Middlebury’s Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California; the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system for a consortium of higher-education institutions, for which he serves as secretary of the board; and a major long-term financial-sustainability plan.

Before that, he was the controller and director of financial resources for Skidmore College (2006-13); the controller, manager of Financial Systems and Accounting, and a financial analyst for General Electric Silicones, Americas (1999-2006); and an associate at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (1995-98). He graduated from Union College with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and from the University at Albany with a master’s degree in accounting.

“I am excited to be joining Amherst College as the CFAO,” Thomas said. “I look forward to working with President Elliott and getting to know and work with the students, faculty, and staff to support the mission of the institution. Supporting Amherst College in the education of some of the brightest minds from around the world is an honor.”