Quinnipiac University CEO and leadership

Tom Ellett, PhD, joined Quinnipiac as the chief experience officer in August 2020, overseeing all student-facing functions, including enrollment management, student affairs, registrar, bursar, public safety, veterans’ affairs and career services.

Prior to joining Quinnipiac, he served as senior associate vice president for student affairs at New York University. He oversaw student-facing functions and residential life for 11,000 students spread across New York City. He led the university’s logistical response to COVID-19, a complex undertaking in a city that was initially the country’s epicenter of the coronavirus.

Ellett brings deep expertise and a student-centered mindset, focusing on improving the student experience on the NYU campus as well as across its 14 global centers. He led the creation of living-learning communities to enrich students’ intellectual and personal growth, and lived with his family throughout his time at NYU in a student residence hall. He was instrumental in creating a new Center for Student Life, which integrated student activities and the student resource center into a single cohesive unit.

Ellett has an undergraduate degree in English from Fordham University, a master’s degree in fine arts from Catholic University, and a doctorate in educational leadership, administration and policy from Fordham.