Lee Howell

Senior Director of Administrative Operations & Logistics

Lee Howell serves as Senior Director of Administrative Operations & Logistics for Information Technology Services at Florida State University. In this role, he provides executive-level leadership for the integration of administrative, financial, and operational functions across ITS, including financial planning, personnel management, procurement, and logistics. He serves as a key advisor to the Chief Information Officer and ITS leadership, aligning systems, resources, and business processes to support institutional priorities, strengthen operational efficiency, and enable data-informed decision-making across the university.

Prior to joining ITS, Lee served as Program Director of Metrics Strategies in the Office of Institutional Research, where he led an institution-wide analytics and decision-support program focused on national rankings, accountability metrics, and institutional performance. In this role, he worked closely with the President, Provost, and senior leadership to support executive decision-making, strategic planning, and institutional governance. His work integrated financial, academic, and administrative data while advancing a university-wide culture of data literacy, automation, and applied analytics.

Lee brings more than two decades of experience in higher education administration, including senior leadership roles spanning research administration, financial operations, and enterprise reporting. He previously served as Assistant Director of Budget and Financial Services at the Florida Center for Reading Research, where he oversaw budgeting, compliance, procurement, and administrative operations within one of the university’s largest research centers. Across his career, he has focused on building scalable administrative systems, modernizing financial operations, and improving organizational effectiveness through data-driven insight and process optimization.

Lee holds an M.B.A. from Florida State University with a concentration in Business Analytics and is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration. His doctoral research examines the relationship between institutional prestige and public-serving outcomes in higher education, with a focus on how rankings systems align with broader measures of civic value and public trust.