Thank You, EVP and COO Rae!
Dear LMU Community,
With deep gratitude and admiration, I share that Rosemarie Rae, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will conclude her tenure at LMU on September 30, 2025. Since joining LMU in 2023, EVP Rae has been a steadfast steward of our mission, a thoughtful leader of our university’s administrative and operational areas, and a trusted advisor to me and our broader community. She has elevated our institution through her distinguished leadership, characterized by her commitment to transparency, insightful long-term planning, and support for the university’s vision and trajectory.
During her time at LMU, EVP Rae has fortified LMU’s financial foundation and operational resilience. She introduced key institutional frameworks—including the Capital Planning Committee and a comprehensive, multi-year financial model that will continue guiding strategic decisions for years to come. In partnership with university senior leadership, EVP Rae and her team clarified faculty housing policies and improved long-term planning for the university’s capital and real estate assets.
EVP Rae’s strategic vision has extended well beyond finance, leading initiatives that will enrich our community into the future. She recently oversaw LMU’s transition to its first new food-service partnership in 50 years, emphasizing sustainability and student-centered services. She planned and executed significant endeavors, including hosting the Los Angeles Rams Training Camp and securing other major event contracts, expanding campus safety protocols, and modernizing our digital and physical infrastructure to enhance the student and faculty experience. Under EVP Rae’s leadership, LMU implemented multi-year compensation and benefit initiatives, improved Workday systems, and restructured Human Resources to better support faculty and staff, consistently fostering a culture of inclusion and innovation. Colleagues recognize EVP Rae as thoughtful and forward-thinking—a leader adept at balancing data-driven rigor and compassion for those we serve.
Prior to LMU, EVP Rae served as UC Berkeley’s chief financial officer and vice chancellor for finance, where she managed an annual budget of over $3 billion and several offices, including accounting, treasury, and institutional research. She has also held numerous executive roles, including leadership positions with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the nonprofit organizations Volunteers of America and Experience Works.
As we prepare for EVP Rae’s departure, I will take time in the coming weeks for thoughtful discernment about the best path forward. I anticipate sharing an update about our next steps later this summer.
It has been a privilege to work alongside EVP Rae when I was provost, and now as president. She is a thoughtful collaborator, overseeing her team’s varied and complex functions with grace, expertise, and foresight. Please join me in thanking EVP Rae for her many contributions and service to LMU and wishing her the best in her future endeavors; our institution is stronger and more resilient because of her dedicated service and leadership.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
President and Professor of Chemistry