Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Thomas Abbott, Adjunct Professor, Sport Finance

In Dr. Abbott’s 45-year career, he has held CFO positions at several start-up manufacturers in the aerospace and chemical industries, as well as positions in operations, finance, and general management.  

In addition, Dr. Abbott has served as Managing Director of a technical education enterprise with an emphasis in West Africa. Among their clients were the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  

Presently, Dr. Abbott is Senior Associate at the Essex Group, a consultancy firm specializing in strategic thinking and planning, management development, and change management and leadership. Their clients range from the Fortune 250 to manufacturers, service and financial institutions, retailers, labor unions and government. 

Dr. Abbott is also an Instructor/Mentor and Coordinator of the MBA for Professionals Program, Rensselaer at Work, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Abbott has also served as the Academic Program Manager for the undergraduate business program and as an Associate Faculty Member in Sport Management at Post University where he was the assistant coach of the men’s and women’s tennis programs assisting with all aspects of both programs. In 2016, Abbott was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region Women's Tennis Assistant Coach of the Year for helping the Eagles to a 13-7 record, best in program history.
 
Dr. Abbott has been involved in competitive tennis for over 40 years and is a former club pro and tennis director. He still competes in tournaments and events in the region.
 
As an undergraduate, Dr. Abbott was a letterwinner with the soccer program at Boston College. He received his B.A. in Economics from Boston College, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and his Ed.D. from Creighton University where his doctoral dissertation was entitled “A Multi-Case Study of Intercollegiate Athletic Programs in NCAA Division II Schools: Their Relation to Institutional Strategic Goals and Policy Decisions.”