Dodds

Ted Dodds has been named Cornell University's new chief information officer and vice president (CIO/VP). Dodds, who is vice provost at the University of British Columbia, will start his new post Jan. 17, 2011.

"After our rigorous nationwide search, I am very pleased that Ted was chosen for this position and that he accepted it among other opportunities he had available to him," said Joanne DeStefano, Cornell's vice president for finance and chief financial officer. "I am confident that we have hired a creative, energetic executive leader who is committed to excellence and who will ensure that Cornell University is at the forefront of higher education information technology."

Dodds has spent his career in information technology and is active in leadership roles in such national technology organizations as EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology, and the Kuali Foundation, which builds community-source software for higher education. Prior to his current post, Dodds was the University of British Columbia's chief information officer 1997-2009. He has also held senior management positions at the University of Windsor and the University of Guelph, both in the province of Ontario. Dodds has a bachelor's degree in computer science and psychology from the University of Guelph and an MBA from the University of Windsor.

"I feel a great sense of energy and enthusiasm at the prospect of joining Joanne and the senior leadership team of Cornell University," Dodds said. "My intent is to build on the institution's known strengths in innovation and collaboration across many aspects of information technology. Working actively with the broader university community of students, faculty and staff, I look forward to developing strategic approaches that meet their needs and, collectively, reimagining IT at Cornell."

The position of chief information officer is a new one for Cornell and is a key part of the university's vision for coordinated campuswide IT strategy and service delivery, said Daniel Huttenlocher, the John P. and Rilla Neafsey Professor of Computing, Information Science and Business and dean of the Faculty of Computing and Information Science. "Ted has a terrific background as an IT strategist, both at the institutional and national levels, coupled with deep experience in operational issues," Huttenlocher said. "He is excited about our vision, and I am delighted to have him leading us in achieving it."

As the new CIO/VP, Dodds will provide leadership and vision in information technology for the Ithaca campus. He will develop long-term technology strategies that focus on value-added services to campus and will continue the cost-reduction initiatives that are in progress. "In this position, Ted will also be an institutionwide leader, advocate and steward of Cornell's activities in innovative, relevant and cost-effective ways," DeStefano said.

She also thanked Steve Schuster, director of the Cornell Information Technologies Security Office, for assuming the role of interim executive director of Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) during the transition to Dodds' appointment from the 2009 retirement of Polley McClure, the former CIT executive director and vice president of information technologies. "The university has made significant strides toward 'reimagining' technology, and Steve's leadership has been critical to our successes. As the new CIO/VP assumes his position, Steve will continue to play a key role in CIT and at Cornell," DeStefano said.