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Faculty and staff invited to open fora featuring CIO finalist candidates
The University's Chief Information Officer Search Committee has narrowed its consideration to four highly accomplished, higher education IT leaders
Monday, August 23, 2021University faculty and staff are invited to take part in four open fora featuring finalist candidates for the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Reporting to the Chief of Staff, the CIO directs the organization and staff in the office of University Technology Services and has responsibility for the planning and delivery of university-wide information technology deployment. The CIO oversees the central IT procurement process and is responsible for administrative oversight of all University-wide software licenses and contracts.
The CIO search process began in late 2020 following the retirement of former CIO Terrie Rowe in 2019. Earlier this year, Harris Search was selected as the preferred search firm and a 13-member, internal search committee was assembled. The committee is chaired by Tom LeMarbe, Associate Vice President, Finance and Administration.
The fora – scheduled to take place via virtual meetings – will include a brief introduction of featured candidates; candidate remarks outlining their experience, their interest in the CIO position; and their thoughts on pressing issues in higher education IT management; as well as question and answer periods. Information regarding the finalist candidates and the open forum slated for each follows:
Wednesday, August 25, 2021 – Noon to 1 p.m.
Lori Tirpak, Acting CIO at Oakland University
Selected to take over as acting CIO when predecessor left. University’s goal during pandemic was to bring teaching and learning online and ease students’ access to classes and lab software. 2020 depended on pivoting to seek out and develop innovative solutions for issues arising with existing platforms during pandemic. Strategic review of technology direction, working with Peer Universities, consultants, and constituents to gather valuable information. Work with directors, engineers and developers to create solutions to support various functions including Security, Network, Infrastructure, HR, recruiting, admissions, registration, alumni and payroll. Budget: $10 million Team: 5 direct/56 indirect including student employees.
Thursday, August 26, 2021 – 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Bhavani Koneru, Associate Vice President for ITS and Chief Information Officer atFerris State University
Reporting to the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, oversee the university’s information technology strategies and computer systems to ensure that they support the strategic objectives; student success, teaching excellence and operational effectiveness. Lead the University’s 100+ member IT organization that is responsible for providing a robust and secure computing environment, reliable infrastructure and viable enterprise applications. Formulate and execute strategies for optimization and modernization of IT facilities including data centers.
Monday, August 30, 2021 – 12:45 to 1:45 p.m.
Jennifer Stedelin, Associate Vice President for Enterprise Applications at The Pennsylvania State University
Reporting to the Vice President and CIO, I lead a team that runs Penn State’s current enterprise systems, is building its future systems, and is retiring legacy systems – all to enable the university to adapt to the new realities of higher education. I also lead and serve on several university-wide strategic initiatives focused on organizational effectiveness.
Thursday, September 2, 2021 – 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Gurvinder Rekhi, Senior Director for Enterprise Applications at The Catholic University of America, DC
Senior IT Executive with accountability of managing $8Mil budget (operating budget $3M and capital projects budget $5Mil), leading a team of 4 direct reports and 13 down line staff. Providing vision, leadership, oversight and management to deliver campus-wide enterprise scale technology services to students, faculty and staff with a focus on supporting teaching and learning, research initiatives, and administrative and auxiliary services.
Following the open fora, participants will be given an opportunity to submit thoughts and preferences regarding candidate selection. The search committee expects to extend an offer of employment to the preferred candidate soon after the completion of the open fora.