What do COOs do? (And Why It Matters at LMU)

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Let’s start with a fair question.

Most people have a general sense of what a university president does. Many people can describe the duties of a chief financial officer. But the COO role is newer in higher education than it is in the business world—until something breaks, a process stalls, or a big moment comes up, and suddenly everyone wants to know who’s responsible.

So here’s my plain-English answer.

Short Definition

A Chief Operating Officer is responsible for how an organization runs—and for improving how it runs over time (i.e, Operational Excellence).

That includes systems, services, reliability, readiness, coordination, and the operational decisions that help a university deliver on its mission every single day.

We all want to be safe, with the lights on, Wi-Fi strong, and systems that work.

What Do COOs Typically Do?

Across industries—healthcare, hospitality, technology, nonprofits, sports—you’ll see COOs doing a few consistent things:

• Turning strategy into execution
• Making complex systems feel simpler for the people who rely on them
• Improving reliability and consistency
• Managing the organization’s business, risk, readiness, and continuity
• Connecting teams that need to move together
• Measuring what matters and improving performance over time

When the COO role is working well, much of this work is invisible because people can focus on their learning, work, or experience without friction.

What Do University COOs Do?

Universities are uniquely complex communities. A student’s experience isn’t shaped by one office or one decision; it’s shaped by how everything fits together.

In higher education, the COO role often includes responsibility for what is essentially a mini-city.

How do I get my mail—paper or electronic?
How do I stay safe—physically and in cyberspace?
How do systems, services, and people work together behind the scenes?

That work typically includes:

• Campus facilities and infrastructure
• Safety, preparedness, and operational continuity
• Events and conferences
• Technology and systems that support teaching, learning, and work
• Human resources and workplace systems
• Auxiliary and business services that shape daily campus life (food, bookstores, OneCards)
• Service standards, process improvement, and cross-campus coordination

In peak moments—move-in, finals, commencement, major events—operations either fade into the background in the best possible way…or they become the story.

What’s Different About LMU’s COO?

Here’s where my role at LMU is intentionally different and why I’m so optimistic about it.

My portfolio is designed to connect internal operations with external reach: communications, reputation, partnerships, and engagement across Los Angeles and beyond. That’s not typical for a COO, but it’s part of what allows LMU to operate in an innovative and integrated way.

When President Poon announced this structure, he shared his vision for an organization where we “improve efficiency—all in service of strengthening LMU’s mission and enhancing academic excellence and student-centered initiatives.”

Why? Because these aren’t separate worlds.

If we want LMU to be known for excellence, the lived experience on campus has to match the promise.
If we want more opportunities for students, we need relationships and partnerships that create internships, pipelines, and real-world pathways. If we’re engaging across L.A., it should be in ways that advance our mission and directly benefit students.

We’re most effective when we’re aligned. Students don’t experience LMU in divisions or reporting lines—they experience it as one place.

How (and When) the COO Office is Helpful

This part matters because I want this role to be accessible, but also useful.

The COO office adds the most value when issues are:

• Recurring or systemic, not one-off
• Cross-functional, sitting between teams or processes
• Experience-based, affecting how students, faculty, or staff move through the institution
• Opportunity-driven, especially when partnerships or external engagement could benefit students

If something feels confusing, stuck, or like it keeps bouncing between offices, that’s often where I—and the teams I work with—can help most.

And just to be clear: if it’s a one-time service issue, the fastest solution is usually the relevant service channel. That’s how you get the quickest help. 

If you ever find yourself thinking, “Who owns this?”—you’re asking the right question. My goal is to help make the answer clearer, and the experience better.

I’ll continue using this blog to explain the “why,” share progress, highlight the teams doing the work, and add clarity and context in a place as dynamic as LMU

—John