Tom Estes Named Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration

Dr. Tom Estes has been named interim vice president for finance and administration at The University of Southern Mississippi, Interim President Dr. Aubrey Lucas announced today. Estes previously served as vice president for business and finance from 1976 to 1992.

In this role, Estes replaces Chad Driskell, executive assistant to the president for external affairs, who had been taking on the additional duties of the vice presidency on an interim basis since February.

“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Tom Estes coming back to assist our university as interim vice president for finance and administration,” Lucas said. “Dr. Estes is an alumnus who served us exceedingly well as a member of the faculty and as vice president for business and finance. He has made it clear he is not interested in the position on a permanent basis but is happy to assist us throughout the coming fiscal year.”

Estes was a member of the faculty at Southern Miss for five years, then from 1976 to 1992 served as vice president for business and finance, a position that has evolved into the vice president for finance and administration. From 1992 until his retirement in 2007, Estes was the senior vice president for finance and administration at Mercer University in Georgia.

“The opportunity to return to my alma mater and work again with Dr. Lucas is, of course, very appealing,” Estes said. “I very much enjoyed the work I was able to do over two decades at Southern Miss and am pleased to be able to contribute again.”

A 1963 graduate of Southern Miss, Estes earned a master's degree from Oklahoma State University in 1964 and a Ph.D. from Arkansas in 1971. The Natchez native is married to wife Frances and has three adult children.