MEDIA, Pa. — Margaret Buban was recently named Penn State Brandywine’s director of finance and business.
Buban joined the campus in 2016, first as an adjunct faculty member after retiring from a 35-year career in corporate settings. She served as the director of customer operations and construction for Verizon Communications, overseeing 950 technicians and 64 managers in 53 work centers in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
“I was very selective in what I wanted to do after retirement,” Buban said. “I love leadership and managing finances, so for my second career, I thought, ‘Why not go with something you love?’”
It was while teaching that she heard about the director of finance and business position. Today, she uses the skills she learned in the corporate world to oversee financial decisions at Penn State Brandywine.
“At Verizon, I was committed to my customers, revenue and profit,” she said, “but in higher education, it’s a much more mission-oriented approach. We’re here to develop the minds and embrace the hearts of students, who in turn will go back into the business world and make a difference.”
Buban especially appreciates the community at Brandywine, stating that her colleagues are similarly committed to the mission of bettering students’ lives.
“I’m constantly touting the value of the faculty and staff here at Brandywine,” she said. “They are very welcoming, knowledgeable and professional. I had no idea prior to working here what a gold mine it would be. Everyone I have met is driven by that same desire to make the students smart and successful in their own careers. Corporations aren’t like that.”
