MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — An overview of the current state of information technology at Penn State was presented today (July 20) by Michael Kubit, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer, to the University Board of Trustees’ Committee on Audit and Risk.
Kubit started his role on Jan. 1 and has been charged with leading a University-wide IT transformation. During his first six months, he has focused much of his time and attention on meeting with constituents from across the University to better understand their goals and objectives and how information technology can help better support their needs.
“Information technology impacts every person at the University,” said Kubit. “It is our job as IT professionals to understand that impact and enable and empower the use of technology in support of the University’s strategic mission.”
Kubit outlined his primary objectives, which include:
- developing a shared vision;
- establishing a culture of service;
- optimizing the University’s investments in information technology;
- positioning technology to be a differentiator for the University; and
- securing Penn State’s critical information assets.
“I’m truly excited by the potential of the IT community here,” said Kubit. “We have some of the most brilliant IT professionals in higher education who are committed to this great University. Our thought leadership and technologies that support teaching and learning are some of the most innovative in higher education.”
Kubit also discussed areas of immediate focus, including implementing solutions to reduce the risk profile of the University; the roll out of a unified email and calendaring system; the development of a strategy for data analytics and business intelligence; and continued work capturing an in-depth assessment of the current state of IT at Penn State.
“My goal is to optimize technologies and services in ways that will eliminate redundancies and allow us to provide increasing levels of service, as well as capacity for innovation,” Kubit said. “There are some very exciting technologies -- deep learning, virtual reality, the cloud -- that could be leveraged to further support our research, academic and service mission.”
Penn State IT comprises than 1,600 employees across college, campus, administrative, research and enterprise departments.