FSU Graduate Craig Bowman, of Great Falls, Va., Has Been Named FSU College of Business Alumnus of the Year

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Frostburg State University College of Business Alumnus of the Year Craig Bowman, center, is pictured with his mentor, Dr. Amit Shah, left, and Dr. Ahmad Tootoonchi, dean of the College of Business.

FROSTBURG, MD (05/15/2013)(readMedia)-- Frostburg State University graduate Craig Bowman has been named the FSU College of Business Alumnus of the Year. He was presented with the honor by FSU President Jonathan Gibralter at the annual College of Business Honors Reception held recently, which also recognized the top business students of the year.

Since Bowman's graduation in 1992, he has contributed to the nation's security through his service in the clandestine services and through private industry information systems. Today, he is the manager of National Security Programs for Adobe Systems, the publicly traded computer software company worth over $23 billion.

"Mr. Bowman is a pure example of a successful alumnus of the College of Business who always speaks very highly of Frostburg State University and the quality of education that he received from our institution," said Dr. Ahmad Tootoonchi, dean of the College of Business. "His professional success, as well as his continued commitment and dedication to our students, is a beautiful story, and it was a true pleasure to present him with the 2013 Alumnus of the Year Award."

At FSU, Bowman studied business administration and was mentored by Dr. Amit Shah. Shortly after graduating, he was recruited into the U.S. intelligence community where he served in the clandestine services for over seven years. During that time, he also founded ComQuest Corp., an information systems firm specializing in U.S. government consulting. When he sold the firm to DigitalSelect in 1998, he became a business partner and the vice president of the start-up DSL provider, leading it to over 60 points of presence across the Eastern U.S. DigitalSelect was then sold to Primus Telecommunications, with Bowman staying on for a year as part of the technical staff.

In 1998, Bowman started another company, DigitalGreens, a golf media company that focused on web-based media coverage of the country's best golf resorts, growing to include over 100 of the highest-ranking golf destinations in the country. Golf Digest and Travel & Leisure Golf magazine have both used DigitalGreens content, and the U.S. Open used DigitalGreens' material during their coverage of the live event.

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bowman transferred ownership of DigitalGreens to his brother-in-law and returned full-time to the intelligence community. He worked as a manager for Perot Systems, as well as for SAIC, where for nine years he led his team of talented IT professionals in preventing terrorism in the U.S.

In November 2010, he accepted a position as Adobe's account manager of the Intelligence Community. Within a year, he was promoted to his current position as manager of National Security Programs. He leads a team of sales and IT professionals, positioning Adobe's Enterprise products in the intelligence community to help drive efficiency and accuracy, assisting in the important mission of reducing national security uncertainty.

Bowman lives in Great Falls, Va., with his wife, Alison Combes, a 1993 graduate of FSU. They have two children: Tyler, 7, and Karlina, who will be 2 in June. Bowman and Combes have supported FSU through the Alison Combes and W. Craig Bowman Presidential Merit Scholarship in Music and the W. Craig Bowman and Alison Combes Management Leadership Endowment in the College of Business.

For more information about FSU's College of Business, visit www.frostburg.edu/colleges/cob. For information on supporting FSU through the FSU Foundation, visit www.frostburg.edu/foundation/ways-to-give.

Situated in the mountains of Allegany County, Frostburg State University is one of the 12 institutions of the University System of Maryland. FSU is a comprehensive, residential regional university and serves as an educational and cultural center for Western Maryland. For more information, visit www.frostburg.edu or facebook.com/frostburgstateuniversity. Follow FSU on Twitter @frostburgstate.

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