By Izabela Zaluska
Higher education has been more than a career for Tom Koeppel. It’s been a commitment to building relationships, finding solutions, and making lasting impacts.
Koeppel, who is currently interim senior director for business and financial administration in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been at the University of Iowa for more than four decades.
He started his career with University of Iowa Health Care and the Iowa Memorial Union before coming to the college. Koeppel, who is beginning a two-year phased retirement, has been with CLAS for 20 years.
“I'm very blessed and fortunate with my career at the university and in the college,” Koeppel said. “Iowa City is a special place.”
Celebrate Tom Koeppel's retirement
Join CLAS staff and faculty to celebrate Tom as he begins his retirement journey. The celebration will be held on Friday, April 25 from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Old Brick, 26 E. Market St. Remarks will take place at 4 p.m.
Arriving in Iowa City
Koeppel moved to Iowa City from Waterloo in 1981. He had recently married his high school sweetheart Barbara Herring, who was living in Iowa City for school.
Koeppel started looking for jobs and accepted a position with University of Iowa Health Care. A couple of years later, he moved over to the Iowa Memorial Union as event services manager.
In 1997, Koeppel left the university to work for the private sector as a general manager for The Radisson/Highlander. While he enjoyed the role, he found that he missed the culture and environment of higher education.
“I was really fortunate that I was able to go back to the Iowa Memorial Union in 2000 as the Iowa House manager and marketing manager,” Koeppel said. “The higher education setting in Iowa City is so special.”
Joining CLAS
A few years after returning to the university, Koeppel joined the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2005 as administrator for the Department of Biology. Koeppel recalled learning a lot from Jack Lilien, who was DEO at the time, especially about the importance of building relationships with faculty.
"It helped me in the long run to understand the importance of that relationship and the lens in which I should be looking at faculty issues and faculty requests,” Koeppel said. “I really appreciated that he was very much a relationship builder with faculty.”
Koeppel recalled how Lilien hosted various socials in his home and felt strongly that bringing people together in a social setting helps build a connection in a professional setting.
In 2016, after over a decade in biology, Koeppel transitioned to a new opportunity—helping rebuild and lead the Department of Physics and Astronomy as administrator.
"College leadership felt that because of the size of biology and the grant portfolio that it would be a good fit for me to move over to physics and astronomy because they needed someone who had that grant experience,” Koeppel said.
He said the biggest growth opportunity in physics and astronomy was understanding the types of grants and projects the department is responsible for—and how they differ from grants in other departments.
“I was very fortunate because Andrea Shaevitz, the senior financial analyst in physics and astronomy, has been there for decades,” Koeppel said. “She was a wealth of knowledge and was willing to share it with me.”
Heather Mineart, the current department administrator, said Koeppel’s leadership and mentorship has made an “immeasurable” impact on her career. His willingness to share knowledge and support her growth has been “truly impactful,” Mineart added.
“Tom’s leadership in CLAS has been nothing short of transformative,” Mineart said. “His ability to inspire and guide others through challenges has been invaluable, and his dedication to fostering a collaborative environment has significantly advanced the college’s goals.”
Work with CLAS finance team has been 'incredibly rewarding’
Koeppel joined the Dean’s Office in the college as the interim senior director for business and financial administration in July 2021. He oversees budget planning, financial analysis, and compliance oversight for CLAS.
He recalled his first day on the job, which was the first close of the fiscal year. He was looking at various reports in the budgeting system and toward the end of the day discovered some serious gaps in understanding about the college's financial situation, leading to a major overhaul of many systems and processes in the college.
It was an unexpected challenge, but Koeppel pulled the finance team together to figure out next steps as a group. He wanted to understand the history of where money was spent and use data to find a solution—and ensure everyone was involved and could create a transparent process for future budget years.
Ryan Kirkey, accounting and financial analysis manager in CLAS, said Koeppel handled the challenge head on and took a team approach to addressing the budget. Kirkey added how Koeppel has been “instrumental” in his development and has been a great leader in CLAS.
“He has a way of connecting with everyone on a personal level and he uses those relationships to build synergies across teams,” Kirkey said. “I am so grateful I was granted the opportunity to work closely with Tom towards the end of his career.”
Koeppel was recently nominated for and selected as the winner for the Outstanding Business Partner award for the 2025 HR and Business Conference.
Koeppel said a highlight of his career has been working with the finance team in CLAS.
"The work here in the college with the finance team has been incredibly rewarding,” Koeppel said. “I feel very strongly that we have the best finance team of any college. We have so much fun in this office.”
‘I hope I have left each place better’
As Koeppel reflects on his time in the college, he’s fortunate for how CLAS has evolved. One of the main things he notices is the change in culture and increase in transparency.
"When we look at all the things that we have done each year, it's pretty amazing,” Koeppel said. “We really have tried to listen to staff, faculty, and leadership to find out what it is they want and are looking for.”
While Koeppel is stepping down from his role as budget officer, he will continue doing project work for the college over the next two years.
One of the things Koeppel is most excited about retirement is spending as much time as he can with his six granddaughters. Koeppel and his wife also enjoy camping, biking, and kayaking, which they also hope to do more of in the coming years.
“The university has been very good to me, and I hope I have left each place better,” Koeppel said.