Dr. Thomas L. (Tom) Winter,  vice provost and professor of social work, has worked at ACU since 1984.  As vice provost, he is responsible for budgeting and planning in the academic and campus life division at ACU, and he serves as ACU's accreditation liaison with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities.  Winter oversees the operation of the university's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment and the Registrar's Office.  He co-chairs the university's budget committee, and is chair of the university undergraduate academic council, which is charged with oversight of the undergraduate curriculum.

Winter is the past president of the Texas Social Work Deans and Directors Association and has served on the board of directors of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD).  He has also served as consulting editor for the Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, published by BPD.  Winter has served on the board of directors of the Texas Chapter of NASW, and has been president of the Texas Political Action for Candidate Election, NASW/Texas' political action organization.

Winter currently is a member of the West Central Texas Workforce Development Board and has been a consultant for churches, child care agencies, and mental health and mental retardation programs.  His current research interests include a national multi-faith study of congregational life in the United States and working with churches in the areas of strategic planning and staff searches.  He has been involved in community-based research projects, including needs assessments related to youth and family issues in the City of Abilene, cancer prevention and awareness in West Texas, program evaluations for educational and human service agencies, and assessment of community problems such as housing discrimination and public attitudes toward non-traditional fund-raising approaches by non-profit organizations. 

His publications include co-authoring a book about ministers in Churches of Christ, and articles describing unique teaching techniques for statistics and trends in the use of information technology in higher education.  Previous research efforts include an evaluation of academic program reviews in comprehensive universities; the intercultural evaluation of Peace Corps programs in Ecuador; evaluation of mental health and developmental disability services in an outpatient psychiatric facility; assessment of gender attitudes of female university students; and, evaluation of management styles of church-related social service agency administrators. 

Winter was named Outstanding Teacher for the College of Professional Studies at ACU in 1991.  He received his B.A. in Biblical Studies from ACU, his M.S.S.W. from the University of Texas in Arlington, and his Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas.  Married in 1970 to Sherla (Colglazier), they have three children, Rachel (Lamb), David, and Aaron, and three grandchildren.