Southwestern College President Brad Andrews has announced Shannon Vargas as the college’s new vice president for finance and chief financial officer. Vargas, a Southwestern College graduate, began her career locally. She worked for the City of Winfield and at an accounting firm in Arkansas City.  She has spent the past 13 years at GE Aviation in positions of increasing responsibility including senior finance leader.

At GE, Vargas had significant success aggressively managing financial strategies and goals as a senior leader at the Strother Field and Winfield plants. In this role, she worked with over 1,000 employees, and annual sales of over $1 billion from this site. 

“Shannon has not only demonstrated an ability to manage budgets, but also an ability to play a key role in driving a complex organization towards increased profitability,” Andrews says.  “She brings experience from industry that will be particularly valuable as we work to set and meet financial targets and goals in a manner that optimizes our ability to be successful in our mission as a college. Her years working in an organization that faces significant financial, regulatory, and operational challenges, as well as her proven management experience, will be of great benefit. We are excited for the new dimension of leadership experience Shannon brings to the college.”