Personal Overview

Tom Stauffacher was born in Rockford, Illinois. Upon graduating from West Rockford Senior High School, he graduated from the University of Montana at Missoula earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. As a Distinguished Military Graduate from the ROTC program, he was commissioned in the Regular United States Army and served over 27 years in the Army as a signal officer, retiring in 1993 as a Colonel. Over the years, Tom served in various Army units in critical command and staff positions in many locations including Fort Monmouth, NJ (as a contracting officer); the Republic of Vietnam (101st Airborne Division); Republic of Korea (2nd Infantry Division); Germany (5th Signal Command); Belgium (NATO); Fort Bragg, NC (XVIII Airborne Corps) and the Pentagon. While in the Army, he earned a Master of Science degree from the Florida Institute of Technology in Contract and Procurement Management. Key military schooling he attended included the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS; the Defense Systems Management College at Fort Belvoir, VA; and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair, DC. His military awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit.

Upon his retirement, he was a program manager at Harris Technical Services Corporation, Melbourne, FL, managing a field engineering and maintenance support contract for a segment of the Defense Satellite Communication System ground stations at locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and numerous sites elsewhere in the world. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor for the Florida Tech Bisk College of Business, teaching, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, courses such as management principles, business ethics, organizational behavior and theory, federal government contract management and international business. In 2003, he became the Director, Industry Education Programs, Florida Institute of Technology, Bisk College of Business where he is responsible for consolidating key programs that interact directly with local businesses (i.e. Business Practicum Program, High School Ethics Competition, Annual Ethics Conference, etc.).

He is a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church assigned to Ascension Catholic Church, Melbourne and Florida Tech Catholic Campus Ministries; plays tuba in the Melbourne Municipal Band; does volunteer work at the Daily Bread soup kitchen in Melbourne and the Ascension Catholic Church Thrift Shop.  He and his wife Kathryn have two children, Michael and Maribeth.