Lillian Wanjagi

Vice President for Finance & Administration
Chief Financial Officer

Lillian Wanjagi joined Southern as the university’s Vice President for Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer on January 24, 2025.

She came to Southern from her role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Vice Chancellor, Business & Finance at Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC. At FSU, she oversaw a $220 million-plus construction and major renovation program and guided the development and execution of the university’s financial strategy. Wanjagi also served as CFO and Vice President for Finance and Administration at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis., and as Executive Director of Facilities Administration at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led the implementation of IBM’s Maximo Integrated Workplace Management System (WMS) for more than 20,000 users. Wanjagi earned a bachelor of science in business administration in accounting from Wingate University, an MBA in international business from Gardner-Webb University, and a doctor of education in higher education administration–leadership from the University of Houston.

Finance & Administration Organizational Chart

Jes Kraus

Chief Human Resources Officer

Jes Kraus is an attorney who has specialized in labor and employment law for over twenty years, with significant experience in higher education labor and employee relations. He previously worked at the University of Vermont for more than ten years. In his last role he served as the CHRO, where he was responsible for all human resources and labor relations functions for a campus of approximately 13,000 undergraduate, graduate, and medical school students and almost 5,000 faculty and staff with six different bargaining units. Prior to working at UVM, Jes worked for a large public sector union for nearly ten years, where he served as a staff attorney, Director of Field Services, and Director. He also served as a police officer in Vermont for six years prior to attending law school. Jes is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, with a Juris Doctor (cum laude) from Vermont Law School and a B.S. in Government from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Eric Lessne

Associate Vice President for Capital Budgeting and Facilities Operations

Eric Lessne has been associated with Southern Connecticut State University since 1999. First as the Associate Director of Project Management and Engineering for the CSU Board of Trustees/ CSCU Board or Regents, from 1999 to 2020. Then selected to be the Interim Associate Vice President for Capital Budgeting and Facilities Operations, 2020 to 2021 and finally becoming the permanent Associate Vice President for Capital Budgeting and Facilities Operations in 2021.

His facilities knowledge comes from over 41 years of construction and higher education facilities management experience. He has been involved with over a billion dollars worth of construction in his career, a good portion of that value here at Southern. Sustainability is high in the list with the implementation and installation of Solar and Fuel cells that generate 70% of the energy needed on campus. He was a leader in the concept and construction of the New School of Business, Connecticut’s first state owned NET- ZERO building. His team was nominated for an EBI award by the US Green Building Council for Recommissioning of the Adanti Center and he was nominated by the Connecticut General Contractors Association as the Public Owner of the year, 2024 recipient of the Michael J. Adanti Award here at Southern, Member of the DEI Steering Committee, and has been on many selection committees.

Lessne earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from Utica College of Syracuse University, Utica, NY.

Pamela Mikaelian

Interim Controller
Director of Accounting Services

Pamela Mikaelian joined Southern as the Director of Accounting Services in July 2018. She came to Southern from her role as Associate Director for Budgets & Planning at the CSCU System Office in Hartford and has over 18 years in higher education including her role as Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration for the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University and as the Controller at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky.

Mikaelian earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration in accounting from Western New England University, an MBA in business from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Doctor of Education in higher education leadership from Central Connecticut State University.

Mufu Weng

Director of Financial Planning and Budgets

Mufu Weng joined Southern in April 2024. He came to Southern from his role as director of financial planning and budgets at Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. At Western, he supported the CFO in managing a $130 million operating budget, implemented the line-item budgeting approach, and achieved material cost savings to help build back Western’s reserves. Prior to Western, Mufu spent over a decade at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, CT in multiple roles covering food services, information technology, sponsored research, GAAP accounting, and budgeting. He was a member of the UB’s turnaround task force and provided significant analytics support to the task force that led to the acquisition of UB by Goodwin University for long-term financial sustainability.

Mufu strives to support the Owls’ community through accurate financial reporting and analysis. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Yang-En University in Quanzhou, China, and holds a MS in Technology Management from University of Bridgeport. He has served as a NECHE peer evaluator since Fall 2022.

Makiem L. Miller

Chief of Police, Director of Public Safety

Chief Miller was sworn in as Southern’s fourth Police Chief and Director of Public Safety on May 3, 2024. He began his law enforcement career with the New Haven Police Department, where he was assigned to Community Patrol and steadily rose through the ranks, serving as Detective, Detective Sergeant, and Shift Commander. After 20 years of dedicated service, he retired at the rank of Lieutenant and District Manager.

Prior to joining the Southern Police Department, Chief Miller held leadership roles as Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, and Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida.

Chief Miller believes that the SCSU Police Department delivers the highest level of service through strong collaboration with university and community stakeholders. He is committed to fostering safety, wellness, crime prevention, counseling, and advocacy to uphold the department’s mission as a community-focused agency.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Sacred Heart University and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from American Military University.

Walter Schwarz

Interim Vice President, Technology
Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Prior to joining Southern in 2020, he lead the IT department at the University of Bridgeport as the Director of Academic and Campus Technology Services. He has over 20 years of technology support and management experience in higher education organizations in Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Connecticut.

Walter’s responsibilities have included digital transformation, strategic technology planning, systems integration, server administration, LMS administration, database administration, network administration, and application design and development.

Walter received BS Degrees in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from the University of Minnesota and completed his MBA at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Information Technology Organizational Chart | Information Technology