News Story

Brent Gustafson ’94, who has served the last ten years as Chief Financial Officer of the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, will return to his alma mater as Hamline University’s new Vice President for Finance and Administration.

A summa cum laude graduate in political science and social studies at Hamline, Gustafson then went on to receive a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1996 before embarking on his professional career.

“We are very happy to welcome Brent Gustafson home,” Hamline President Fayneese Miller said. “Since he graduated from Hamline, he has achieved great things in his field and I know he’ll do equally great things here.”

Gustafson’s hiring culminated a nationwide search.

“I am looking forward to assuming new responsibilities and facing new challenges at Hamline, a place I know and love,” Gustafson said. “I don’t believe most people think that when they graduate from an institution they’ll one day come back to help run it, but that has happened for me and I couldn’t be happier.”

After graduating from the Kennedy School, Gustafson worked for the Minnesota Department of Health for two years and the Minnesota Department of Finance (now known as the Office of Management and Budget) from 1997 to 2008. From there, he served three years as budget director for Dakota County before serving as a lead fiscal analyst for the Minnesota Senate for two legislative sessions.

Since 2012, he has overseen finances and facilities in the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, which has a $270 million annual budget and over 1,300 faculty and staff. CLA is the largest college in the University of Minnesota system.

“Hamline, like virtually all other institutions of higher education, has had to adapt due to COVID-19,” President Miller added. “We have come through the storm in a strong financial position and a big part of Brent’s responsibilities will be to ensure that stability going forward.”

Gustafson, who resides in Stillwater, will assume his duties on June 20.