Jim Lewis

Senior Advancement Officer

Raised principally in North Texas, Jim Lewis moved around regularly as the son of a United Methodist minister. Lewis graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He attended UT Arlington and received two degrees from East Texas State University and an MBA from SMU. During the past 40+ years of work in higher education, 30 years were spent as a vice president at four different institutions.

Lewis was widowed in 2016 with the passing of his wife of 37 years, Cheryl Childers Lewis. He met her when they were both in graduate school at ET, where she was working on her master's in music education. He endowed a music scholarship at A&M-Commerce in her name. The music honors recital was also renamed in her honor in 2017. Lewis's son, Tyler, lives in Sherman with his partner, Meghan.

A Conversation with Jim Lewis

How do you help students? 

I work to engage alumni and other donors with a goal of raising funds in support of the university, much of which is focused on student scholarships.

What would you tell a student who is thinking about attending A&M-Commerce?

This is a very caring campus, just like when I was a student here in the 70s.  It is more like a family than a university.

What makes A&M-Commerce unique? 

I think it's the mixture of so many students from rural Northeast Texas, along with students from urban and suburban high schools in North Texas, along with other students from across Texas and around the world.

Educational Background

• MBA, Southern Methodist University
• M.S., Counseling, East Texas State University
• B.A., Counseling/Sociology, East Texas State University

Honors and Awards

• Distinguished Achievement Award, District III, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, 2017
• Fundraising Executive of the Year, Dallas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Executives, 2016

Professional Organizations

• Association of Fundraising Executives, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education