About LMU

About President Neel

Dr. Neel most recently served the University of Tennessee as executive director of the Corporate Governance Center. Until February 2003, he was Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. In this role, he was the Governor’s chief financial officer for Tennessee state government and managed over a $20 billion budget. His office provided executive direction to the department and coordinated divisional activities as they related to other agencies. The department acted as the chief corporate office of state government, and its purview also extended throughout the state.

Prior to joining the State Cabinet, Dr. Neel served as Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. During his tenure, he also served in the Cabinet of Governor Lamar Alexander and was a member of the transition team for Secretary of Education Alexander where his focus was on post-secondary education in the United States.

His academic career began in the University of Tennessee’s Department of Management where his research focus was on corporate policy. His publications appeared in numerous management journals. More recently, he has published essays in a number of the nation’s leading newspapers.

Dr. Neel has served on nine corporate boards in his career and currently is a board member of a NYSE and NASDAQ-listed company. His board experience has included chair roles on a variety of committees including audit, compensation, nominating, and governance, in addition to having chaired special committees conducting fraud audits, acquisitions, mergers, and the sale of the business.

Dr. Neel’s primary corporate governance interest is the distribution of power between the board and the CEO/Chairman.