Dear UMA Community,
As many of you know, Buster Neel, who has served the University of Maine at Augusta as interim chief business officer since March 2019, will be retiring at the end of June. Buster has diligently ensured the financial health of UMA in a difficult higher education environment, while maintaining his kind and gracious manner, and will be greatly missed. We are fortunate, however, that Buster has looked to the future with succession planning by mentoring Aili Robinson, currently our executive director of finance and administration, and the University of Maine System agrees that Aili is the perfect candidate to step into the position.
After graduating from UMA with a BSBA in the fall of 2009, Aili started her career in the Student Accounts Office as a CL1 in the spring of 2010. Finding a passion for working with students and managing budgets, Aili has continued to take on additional responsibilities and assume new roles over the past 14 years. She went on to earn an MBA from UMaine in 2018, graduating summa cum laude and earning a spot in the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society. In the summer of 2023, she completed the three-year College Business Management Institute program offered by SACUBO. Aili enjoys living on her small horse farm in Jefferson with her husband, John, daughter, Ada, and their Goldendoodle, Poppy. In her spare time, you can find her in the horse show ring, baking, or hiking.
Please join me in congratulating Buster on his retirement and Aili on her new position!
Best,
Jen Cushman
UMA President