Thomas University recently welcomed Roy A. Nyquist as its Contract Management Coordinator. Among his are working with TU’s partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD) to provide practitioner training to the Defense Acquisition Workforce, which includes employees of the DoD who work in positions in Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L).

“Roy’s three decades of experience in this field make him the perfect fit for his new position at Thomas University,” said Stephen Ferguson, TU’s Associate Vice President of Enrollment, Military Operations. “TU is one of only a few select organizations that have been approved by DAU to offer their courses. Our partnership assists the DoD with training needs currently difficult to satisfy throughout the Southeast. Roy will play an important role in coordinating these efforts.”

Nyquist has more than 30 years of experiences in the acquisitions cycle, including 25 of those in pre-award and post-award contracting. His experience includes being a contracting officer and an instructor. Nyquist said he chose to join TU because he supports the university’s plans for providing training for active duty military personnel, U.S. Government civilian acquisition workforce and individuals who want to learn how to conduct business with the United States Government.

TU is already a DAU equivalency partner providing selected contracting and supply chain coursework toward DAU certifications. Select DAU coursework may also be eligible for college credit. With certification, TU can offer additional courses.

Nyquist’s interest in contract management and DAU courses date back to his service in the U.S. Army.

Born in Freeport, New York, Nyquist’s father worked for Pan Am, which required the family to move first to Hawaii, where Nyquist completed grade school, and then to Guam before settling in Connecticut, where he attended high school and college. After college, Nyquist joined the Army.

In 1998 and 1999, Nyquist was the Director of Operations of Defense Contract Management Command-Middle East in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he oversaw the administration of more than $2 billion for the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales Programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. Those programs included construction, overhaul, maintenance, productions and contractor logistics support that directly impacted the combat readiness of the host nation military forces.

Later Nyquist served as Acquisition Officer in the Host National Support Branch, U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida from 1999 to 2002, where he planned and coordinated host nation logistical support and contingency contracting programs for the U.S. Central Command. Nyquist’s duties included constructing and negotiating national-level military-to-military agreements between the U.S. Central Command and nationals in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa.

From 2002-2003 he served as Acquisition Officer for the Procurement Directorate in the U.S. Special Operations Command, also at MacDill. In that role, Nyquist provided procurement assistance, such as negotiating and procuring needed state-of-the-art specialized requirements to Special Operations forces.

Nyquist worked with Tremco Inc. from 2003 to 2014, first as a Marketing Support Manager and later as a Contract Manager. In 2014 he became Director of Contracting with American Medical Depot. Since 2015 Nyquist has been president and owner of RN Contracting Solutions Inc.

He has also served as a course director and instructor at DAU, where he taught contracting courses, and as an adjunct professor for ESI (TwentyEighty) and Webster University.

Nyquist holds a master’s degree in Contract Management from Florida Tech in Melbourne and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Connecticut. He is also a Certified Professional Contract Manager, a Certified Federal Contract Manager and holds a master’s certificate in Government contracting from George Washington University and held level III certification by Army Acquisition Corps in Contracting and Program Management.