Mission Hills, Kansas
Drury Class of 1977
Year of Election as Trustee: 2024
Thomas (Tom) Cray ‘s hometown is Weston, MO – a small farm town just north of Kansas City. He is a 1977 Drury grad with a Business Administration and Economics degree. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, Breech School of Business Student Advisory committee and played varsity tennis.
After graduation, Tom worked for IBM, training in Kansas City, Dallas and Poughkeepsie NY. He was then assigned to the Wichita KS branch office. He worked with the largest Wichita IBM clients including Boeing, Beechcraft, Lear Jet and Cessna Citation. Flying was at first a hobby, and then became a lifelong skill culminating with an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license, and earning a type rating as a single pilot jet captain.
After seven years with IBM, Tom worked briefly for Beechcraft Corp. before entering the MBA program at the University of Kansas. The entrepreneurial owner of three Kansas City based businesses over the span of 35 years, Tom was involved in the design, manufacturing and sales of various products both domestically and internationally. Over that time period, he was the inventor of 5 US patents and many trademarks. In December 2020 he sold his last business to a private equity firm from NYC and retired.
Tom has been married to Ellen for almost 40 years and primarily resides in Mission Hills KS. Ellen and Tom have three grown children: Emily (Devin), Michael (Elise) and Will as well two grandchildren – Sophie and Jack. Tom is the managing trustee of the Cray Foundation and is involved in local clubs and charities in the KC area.
His concept and gift to Drury of the 2X life-size bronze panther monument and surrounds in Burnham circle have been well received by all in the Drury community.