Penn State Vice President for Administration Tom Poole announced that he will transition his role to begin a phased retirement, effective June 30. He’s served more than a decade as the “president’s chief of staff.”

Poole was named vice president in July 2009. In the position, he has a direct reporting line to President Eric Barron and is responsible for the daily operations of the Office of the President and the Office of the Board of Trustees.

The phased retirement plan will include Poole assisting part-time with the transition and serving as an affiliate faculty member in Penn State’s higher education program and an advisor to Penn State Greater Allegheny’s “Crossing Bridges: A Summit” project.

“Tom Poole has been a valuable and longstanding leader in Penn State’s administration, and has been instrumental in numerous key University decisions throughout his many years of service,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in a release. “His deep understanding of higher education and its complexities, as well as his knowledge of policy issues and the history of Penn State, has been instrumental in keeping our University on track and helping us to be as effective as possible in fulfilling our mission.”

During his 11 years in the President’s Office, Poole has overseen searches for six Penn State vice presidents, the athletics director, the executive vice president and provost, and the director of ethics and compliance. He was the executive secretary to the Trustee Presidential Selection Committee when Barron was named, and was on the search committee for head football coach James Franklin.

Poole was elected secretary of the Corporation/Board of Trustees in May 2013, where he answers directly to the chair of the board. He was one of three University executives assigned to implement recommendations from the Freeh Report in 2012, created the committee to organize and complete a comprehensive, systematic review of all university policies, and is currently chair of both the Greek Life Response Team and the Facilities Naming Committee.

”For the past 11 years I have had the privilege of working in the President’s Office at one of the world’s great research universities. I have served three University presidents, worked with six chairs of the Board of Trustees, dozens of devoted trustees and hundreds of colleagues,” Poole said in a release. “I look forward to continuing my service to Penn State in a new capacity, taking with me memories that will last a lifetime.”