Alvernia President Tom Flynn with Golden Class

By Lini Kadaba

Even in a crowded room, President Tom Flynn has a way of connecting one on one, making that person feel like the center of attention. 

 

It鈥檚 his superpower, said board of trustees member Jeannie Savage 鈥88, and she鈥檚 not alone in thinking that. 

 

鈥淗e鈥檒l turn that laser focus on you, and suddenly, you feel like the most important and interesting person in the room,鈥 said Savage, 52, a former English schoolteacher and longtime volunteer who recently moved from Berks County to Hawaii. 

 

As Flynn, 66, prepares to step down in June as Alvernia鈥檚 longest-serving president after an impressive 14-year run, he will be sorely missed. One of the foremost reasons, no doubt, will be his superpower鈥攖hat uncanny ability to engage with alumni. 

 

鈥淗e really makes you feel better than you are,鈥 said Savage, who joined the board in 2015. By then a stay-at-home mom, she said she was a tad intimidated at first by her fellow trustees, men and women who were CEOs or prominent in the business community. 

 

Flynn, however, assuaged her doubts, making clear that Savage had just as much to contribute, including the perspective of an alumna. That turned out to be especially valuable as the board in 2017 considered a significant change: adopting the Golden Wolves as the new school mascot. 

 

鈥淓verybody in the room looked at me,鈥 she said. 鈥溾榊ou are an alum. How are you going to feel about it?鈥欌 (Turns out, Savage was a strong supporter of replacing the Crusaders, a position she had advocated for as an education and English major at Alvernia.) 

 

鈥淗e elicits better ideas and questions from you,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a real teacher in Tom Flynn.鈥 

 

Steve Keiser 鈥80, a residential real estate investor, was already on the board of trustees when Flynn took the helm in 2005, and the 61-year-old Cumru Township resident remembers his energy. 

 

鈥淚 thought this would wane in about a year,鈥 said the social studies major who is a former vice president of the Alumni Association. 鈥淚t never did. I don鈥檛 know how he keeps up that pace.鈥 

 

Keiser also recalls Flynn鈥檚 sharp mind. 

 

鈥淚 had met him one time,鈥 he said. 鈥淗e remembered my name, my partner鈥檚 name, what we did. I鈥檓 always amazed at how much he retains.鈥 

 

And keen management style. 

 

鈥淗e鈥檚 able to assess the person鈥檚 abilities and limitations and maximize the abilities that person has,鈥 he said. 

 

For Meggan Kerber 鈥96, 鈥01, executive director of the nonprofit Berks Arts Council and chair of Alvernia鈥檚 Alumni Council, one of Flynn鈥檚 real strengths is the way he has fostered closer ties between alumni and the university. 

 

鈥淗e really has played an integral role,鈥 said the 44-year-old Cumru Township resident who majored in psychology and later returned to Alvernia to earn an MBA. 鈥淗e has made a concerted effort to go out and meet alumni, listen to alumni and learn from alumni.鈥 

 

His engagement also has extended to the Reading community. By all accounts, Flynn gets credit for raising the profile of the university through the Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement and visionary partnerships such as the one with Leadership Berks, a program housed within the O鈥橮ake Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Public Service. 

 

鈥淗e鈥檚 done a tremendous amount of community engagement,鈥 Kerber said, 鈥渂ringing the name of Alvernia to a much more prominent level, so when you meet someone and say Alvernia, they鈥檙e not saying 鈥榃ho?鈥欌 They actually know who the university is. 鈥 He has taken Alvernia to new heights in his tenure through his leadership and his willingness to connect our communities internally and externally closer to the university.鈥 

 

Fifty-eight-year-old John D. Wanner 鈥82 saw that same leadership on display while he served on the board of trustees for a decade, the last three years as vice chair. 

 

According to the political science major, Flynn welcomed the trustees鈥 opinions and thoroughly studied issues before coming to a decision. 

 

鈥淭om is an amazing manager and perfectly suited to be president,鈥 said the founder and president of the lobbying firm Wanner Associates who lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 鈥淗e is very charismatic, an excellent communicator. He would often say, 鈥楢fter a few years, university presidents end up with the board they deserve.鈥欌 

 

Flynn envisioned a master plan of growth for Alvernia from day one. 鈥淚 think it really has come to pass, that and more,鈥 Wanner said. 鈥淭om is the perfect guy at a perfect time.鈥 

 

For former longtime trustee Bob McCormick 鈥82, one of Flynn鈥檚 most effective ways of leading and engaging the community is his trademark mission moments鈥攁 quote or anecdote offered at the start of an event that ties into the school鈥檚 Franciscan values. 

 

鈥淚t gives you a moment of pause as to why you are there,鈥 said McCormick, 57, the managing partner of Murphy McCormick Capital Advisers in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and an accounting major. 

 

In fact, the adjunct professor of corporate finance and economics in Alvernia鈥檚 MBA program starts his own classes with a mission moment. 鈥淭om has really instilled that,鈥 McCormick said. 

 

Steven Koons 鈥05 got his first impression of Flynn while working as a student in the president鈥檚 office. It was a crucial year, when Alvernia was transitioning to its sixth president. 

 

鈥淚 was able to have a very forthright and honest relationship with him,鈥 said Koons, 36, who studied management and accounting and now is a partner at the public accounting firm Cotton & Company in Alexandria, Virginia. 鈥淗e was someone willing to engage students in dialogue and include that as part of the decision.鈥 

 

A few years ago, Koons, who lives in Washington, D.C., was invited by Flynn to join the first President鈥檚 Advisory Council. 鈥淗e takes people鈥檚 advice seriously,鈥 he said. 鈥淗e listens to people carefully.鈥 

 

Flynn also makes the small efforts to maintain personal relationships. When Koons鈥 grandmother died, for example, Flynn sent a Mass card. 鈥淗ow he knew that she passed away, I have no idea,鈥 he said. 

 

鈥淔or me, I鈥檓 happy for him in his decision to retire,鈥 Koons said. 鈥淏ut he鈥檒l be missed. He has been truly for me a connection to the university.鈥