Announcing new University IT partnerships and reporting changes
The Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has established new partnerships and reporting relationships with several IT leadership roles and units across the University, including the Booth School of Business, Biological Sciences Division (BSD), the College, the Institute for Molecular Engineering (IME), and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Intended to enhance technology support and security for the University and its faculty, students, staff, and community partners, these departmental integrations and partnerships support the CIO’s areas of strategic priority and complement the UChicago IT initiatives currently planned or in progress throughout the institution. The creation of the IT Leadership Council, which brings together more than 30 IT leaders from across campus to discuss collaborative solutions and approaches to IT service delivery, has been critical in fostering these relationships.
Beginning January 1, on an initial three-month engagement, Kevin Boyd, executive director and CIO at Chicago Booth, will serve a dual role both as CIO for Chicago Booth, as well as University deputy CIO. As University deputy CIO, he will be principally charged with accelerating efforts to enhance service delivery and reduce risk across the University IT enterprise. In this role, Boyd will identify centers of excellence from Chicago Booth and other campus IT areas and develop mechanisms to scale these approaches.
“This partnership allows us to better leverage the great work being done by IT staff at Chicago Booth and in similar IT units throughout campus,” shared Cole W. Camplese, associate vice president for IT and CIO. “Working together will allow us to collaboratively serve the goals of the University and further numerous campus IT initiatives.”
Additionally, Plamen Martinov, BSD Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), is now serving as University deputy CISO, reporting to the University CISO. Martinov and his staff will continue to focus their efforts on the security needs of BSD, while working on alignment and tighter integration of security practices and expertise between the BSD and University security programs. This move enables Martinov, University CISO Leilani Lauger, and their respective teams to readily share resources to accelerate the security program across campus.
Within BSD and the College, a reporting line relationship has been established between staff with IT responsibilities and the CIO’s office to further coordination as well. In this arrangement, BSD Assistant Dean and Executive Director Dipti Ranganathan and Director of College IT Joe Stupar will maintain an intentional connection to the CIO’s office.
“The increased proximity and collaboration afforded by these reporting adjustments, and the underlying partnerships they represent, speak to broader changes taking place across UChicago IT and the University,” explained Camplese. “The University IT enterprise and its staff are being driven more so than at any previous time to mature and adapt to the evolving expectations and needs of the institution, and so I am thrilled to see these essential, beneficial partnerships take shape.”
A newly established partnership between IME and the CIO’s office is providing dedicated IT and audiovisual support to IME faculty and staff, while also aligning practices and expertise with the University’s central IT organization, IT Services (ITS). Al Dossani, senior technical support specialist, was hired in autumn 2017 as a part of ITS, and works directly with IME faculty and staff to support their technology needs.
A similar partnership between the Polsky Center and the CIO’s office has another ITS staff member, Desktop Support Specialist Mike Wasniowski, working directly with Polsky Center staff and members to provide dedicated IT and audiovisual support. As a part of the partnership, ITS is taking on management of several Polsky Center IT systems, including email, Active Directory services, and desktop imaging.
Finally, a new TechBar was also established at the Polsky Exchange on 53rd Street in Hyde Park, as a part of the Polsky Center partnership.
