Butler Community College welcomes Tom Nevill as new Vice President of Academics

EL DORADO, Kan. – Tom Nevill, DMA, officially began his duties as Butler Community College’s Vice President of Academics July 1. 

Nevill obtained his Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Illinois University, and both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). His musical focus is percussion.

Nevill replaces Lori Winningham who served for years as an academic dean for Butler before serving the past five years as vice president of Academics. She left administration to return to her passion -- working with Butler students as a fulltime mathematics instructor.

Nevill is not new to the community college landscape. He most recently served as Dean of Arts & Digital Media at Austin Community College where he oversaw a division with more than 3,000 declared majors in 31 associate degrees and 23 certificate pathways. He also spent time as Dean of Arts & Humanities at Pima Community College in Arizona and as Division Chair for the Business, Creative & Performing Arts at Guilford Technical Community College in North Carolina. He also served as the Music Department Chair at The University of Texas at Brownsville where he also founded the Percussion Studies Program.

While at Austin, Nevill lead a successful initiative to make Austin Community College the first community college in the U.S. to be designated an Adobe Creative Campus. Nevill is now actively working to establish the same for Butler as the first in Kansas – an initiative which will provide full access to the Adobe Creative Cloud suite for students at no cost as they prepare for success in the classroom and the modern economy.

“Everyone and everything at Butler are laser focused on students and their success,” said Nevill. “That became quite evident during the interview process. I’m excited to join the students, faculty, and staff as we build upon Butler’s history of success while engaging our students and communities in new and exciting ways.”

Nevill’s accomplishments include being a 2013 and 2010 finalist for the University of Texas Regent’s Outstanding teaching award. He also earned Exceptional Faculty Merit three times while at the University of Texas at Brownsville and was named a National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Award recipient in 2010.  

Nevill has taught a variety of percussion and music courses throughout his career and is still a member of the Percussive Arts Society. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Mexico, Canada and Japan.

But, Nevill says teaching and performing are now taking a backseat. Instead, he’s serving the community college mission through leadership and advocacy, while bringing to Butler a passion for diversity and inclusion, digital literacy for all, and community engagement.

“I am truly grateful that I have been accepted into the Butler family in this role because community colleges change lives in ways that cannot be matched,” Nevill said. “And the team at Butler has that same spark, determination, and culture of care that not only drives student success, but also promotes and encourages personal growth. . . I want to focus my energy and attention on being the best advocate I can possibly be for the students, faculty, staff, and the communities we serve.”