Pam Schickling Buckley arrived at MIT with a high school diploma and a love for accounting. She took a job as an administrative assistant in the Purchasing and Stores department, supporting administrative and accounting functions. Fast forward 32 years, today Pam serves as the Senior Director for Finance and Administrative Services in the Office of the Vice President for Finance and holds two degrees from Northeastern University—a BS in accounting and a Master’s degree in education with an emphasis on higher education administration.
“My managers and mentors encouraged me every step of the way, in my career and in my education,” says Pam. “I earned both degrees while working full time, and when I received my bachelor’s degree the department threw a party and the faculty there stood up and cheered for me. I get teary-eyed thinking about it to this day.”
Pam’s finance journey at MIT took many twists and turns as she moved around and up—to the Center for Real Estate, to the area that launched MIT’s OpenCourseWare, to the Audit Division, then a leap to academic administration in the Program for Writing and Humanistic Studies, and as an Administrative Officer in the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education.
“I had this love for accounting and spreadsheets, and that grew over time to include finance and administration,” Pam recalls. “What I see in each of these roles was a chance to help build something—a new department, a new dean’s office, or MIT’s first large-scale global open learning project. The finance part was a tool that I could use to help inform decisions, solve problems, make something happen, or create something new. And then in 2011 came an opportunity to join VPF as Manager of Sponsored Accounting, and move to a role in central administration.
“This move was transformative for me, as it gave me a window into finance at the Institute level. At the same time, I brought a deep understanding of how departments work to VPF and helped bridge some of those knowledge gaps. I was promoted to Assistant Controller and eventually to the role I have today.
“There are so many ways to do finance at MIT. There’s no set formula but I’m happy to share my story and some guiding principles I’ve learned along the way: be willing to move, take risks, learn new things, and go outside your comfort zone. Believe in yourself, your abilities, and your capacity to learn new things, and recognize there are always people willing to help you advance your career.”