Category: Professional development

A new beginning

On January 24th, I resigned my position at Baruch College, and on February 3rd started as Chief Information Officer at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts.

My time at Baruch was important and transformational. It’s hard to describe the connections I’ve made, the experiences I’ve had, the impact I had on the community and it on me. Working at Baruch and CUNY gave me experiences in a large university system, a complicated bureaucracy (I’m actually fond of referring to it as “multiple intersecting bureaucracies”) and a place where I made an impact. When my former boss retired in June 2023 I was appointed interim VP/CIO and served for eleven months in that role, guiding the College through a significant event, but also supporting a technology refresh at all levels of the organization.

I was a finalist for the permanent position, but ultimately was not selected to continue on and went back to the AVP/Deputy CIO role, which I had been doing since last May. Perhaps a reminder that nothing is guaranteed, and even if you think that the planets have aligned reality often has different plans (and I know the weight of saying that right now.) Thankfully, with some executive coaching and some leadership development experiences, I was able to establish that I was highly qualified for a CIO position, and sure enough as I applied for positions I got a lot of interest.

I have previously posted about the job search process, and I may update that post with some of what has changed and what I have learned since then. Notably I feel like I had nearly every possible experience with potential positions–enthusiastic initial contacts from recruiters that actually went nowhere, searches being canceled, getting ghosted, getting first round interviews, getting finalist interviews, turning down finalist interviews, not getting selected after finalist interviews.
“Roller coaster” is the right metaphor but only incompletely describes the surreality of the whole experience. I took to my technique of looking at my life as an external observer, and often just laughing at the strange things; but ultimately seeing that I would eventually get a CIO position commensurate with my needs and experience. (Also, my advice on videoconferencing and online interviews is certainly now outdated since COVID and the new mores we’d developed as a result.)

I’m also at a different place in my life than I was nine years ago–namely the kids are older, so it’s a little easier to relocate and do the remote thing which is what I’ll be doing for at least a bit. It’s only a few hours between locations and I’ll probably be able to go home most weekends (and in fact my spouse and youngest child came up here just this weekend to visit, which was nice.) It’s part and parcel of advancing your career and balancing home and family life; and I have plenty of colleagues who have done even more extreme living situations to climb the ladder. We made the choice to not move and for me to select jobs within commuting distance while our children were growing up–a decision I stand behind, but I can compare with friends who moved every few years and know I could have been more aggressive with career opportunities. Again, the only correct decisions on your career are the ones that are right for you and your family, which is why this time thinking of moving to a new location was in the cards for me.

Now I have the opportunity to take everything I have learned and apply it to a new institution, one that I believe I can make a large impact on, and one that I feel is on a strong upward trajectory. I am looking forward to helping the organization grow and transform, and as I learn about the opportunities I’m enthusiastic about the possibilities. I’ve only been here two weeks and I’ve absolutely been blown away by the dedication and care of the community–this is an organization that prides itself on the personal touch for its students and it’s clear that also extends to the support of the staff here; and so I will hold that close while I seek to improve IT processes and procedures here.

And yet, leaving Baruch was not easy. My colleagues at Baruch became friends; the mission of the institution is significant, and while I’m not egotistical enough to think they won’t be able to carry on without me, I will miss the possibilities we could have had together. I will miss working with the team I built and strengthened there, and I had certainly learned to negotiate a complex system well. I was once given the advice that it’s okay to mourn what you’re losing even as you’re excited about what you’re gaining; and that is a significant part of what I feel during this transition.

I don’t know what the future holds–and surely this is a tumultuous time for higher education and our world–but I remain defiant in my hope that higher education can continue to make the world a better place and that we who serve in it are doing important work. I look forward to what I can accomplish at Western New England University and hope for the future.

Onward!

(P. S. I let AI generate the header image.)

Back To EDUCAUSE

I’m ramping back up for my first in-person EDUCAUSE Annual Conference since 2019 in Chicago, and my first visit to Denver since 2019 as well.

Obviously we did not have an in-person conference in 2020, and I was unable to attend the in-person conference in 2021 due to institutional travel policies which still did not permit out-of-state conference travel (although I may have had dinner with some friends in a city 90 minutes from my house one evening, completely coincidentally.) 2021 had a parallel in-person an virtual conference; although they shared the keynote speakers most of the sessions were in fact considerably different, and that was somewhat disappointing to me as a virtual attendee. I think this year’s plan for two separate experiences is much more realistic (although it would be great if sometime we could truly have a “hyflex” conference experience like our institutions say we are offering for instruction, and for what our constituents seem to still demand, but that’s another topic.)

It’s not my first post-pandemic conference–we had a very successful NYSCIO conference this past July, and it was a great event for me to get back my “conference legs” (although perhaps not literally–there’s considerably less walking there than at a typical EDUCAUSE Annual Conference).

While I had hoped to attend this year’s event as an EDUCAUSE Board member, that was not to happen (and congratulations to Peter Angelos and Jane Livingston, the new board members). As they say it’s an honor to be nominated. And of course I’ll still be bringing my best thinking to the conference and hoping to help people have their best conference experiences, and look forward to continuing to support EDUCAUSE in any way I can.

I am looking so forward to seeing people I haven’t seen in three years in many cases, and making new connections.

As always, please find me (you can always reach out on Twitter if nothing else) and say hello. Maybe we’ll share a drink or a meal, or just have a great hallway conversation.

Please also remember to stay safe, while we will be interacting there’s nothing wrong with wearing a mask in crowds, asking to keep distance from other attendees, and of course being up on your shots.

Hopefully I’ll see you soon.

Ten Years Ago, Part of My Professional Career Ended

Today my former colleagues at Drew marked that ten years ago today was the last Computer Initiative handout.

Continue reading Ten Years Ago, Part of My Professional Career Ended

EDUCAUSE 2018

Here I am, the weekend before the Tuesday morning I’ll be flying out to Denver for EDUCAUSE 2018.  I’m getting ready–I made sure my spouse had my itineraries and conference information, I’m making plans with people, reviewing my schedule yet again, and generally getting in the frame of mind I need to be in to get the most out of the event.

This will be my 13th EDUCAUSE Annual Conference.   My first was in 2004, and I’ve been to every one since 2010.  I’m very fortunate in that I’ve cultivated a great network of people that I get to experience the conference with, and their perspectives continue to educate and amaze me.  I hope that I give something back to them as well.

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with everyone, meeting new friends, learning great things (I’m particularly interested in diversity in the profession, data warehousing, furthering my professional growth, and the future of higher ed).  I also love Denver–I lived in Colorado for a year and a half when I was in grad school, and driving to Denver for shows or tourism was always a treat.  I love the crisp mountain air and the brilliant sunshine (although the weather forecast says that will be in short supply).

As always, most of my conference suggestions are evergreen and are in this blog (just search the EDUCAUSE tag).  Denver’s altitude and dry air means hydration is important, especially for those of us nearly at sea level.   Understand you’ll be going full tilt for 12-16 hours every day, and plan for sleep and exercise to balance that.  And don’t go too crazy with the food and drink (and, I suppose, other things.)  But definitely go to dinner with people, and linger at the bar as well.

If you don’t know me, say hi.  If you do, of course also say hi.  We’ll do lunch, or dinner, or second dinner, or just hang out late at the hotel bar.  Think of deep, profound questions to ask people you meet–they will be primed to give you deep, detailed answers, trust me.  Keep the fires alive after the conference too–you can always meet up later on, and decide to collaborate on other things.  (Related:  Come to our poster session.)  Also, I’ve never met someone–even the biggest “rock stars” of EDUCAUSE, who haven’t been happy to say hi and shake hands with anyone.  That’s why they’re there.

Also, I apologize in advance for my Twitter being full of #edu18 starting Tuesday morning.  If you really don’t care I would understand if you mute me for a bit.  But not only do I like sharing with others, it’s also how I keep my notes of the conference.

See some of you in Denver!

 

Book Club — “New York 2140”, part three

A first for me, I’ve completed the book and now can blog about it leisurely. 

This is in response to Bryan’s post about Part 3 of our reading (which is Parts 5 and 6 of the book). I’m calling this post “Part 3” to remain in parallel with that, even though it’s only my second post about the book. 

Continue reading Book Club — “New York 2140”, part three

Book Club– “New York 2140”, Kim Stanley Robinson

A Friday off in the summer is allowing me to catch up on Bryan Alexander’s book club reading, the expansive, immersive “New York 2140” by Kim Stanley Robinson.  This is the first novel of his I have read, which is clearly a cultural deficit I should attempt do rectify soon.

The book’s title tells you what the book is about, largely.  The New York of 2140 is dealing with the impacts of a 50 foot sea level rise due to climate change. New York is underwater to around 30th Street, and much of the story takes place in the Met Life and Flatiron buildings around Madison Square Park, which make the story especially compelling to me as my office is only a few blocks east of here on 25th street (and whose building would be partially underwater in the book, although my 9th floor office would be above the waterline.)  Perhaps when Bryan told me I “might like this one” his is what he meant.

A few impressionistic thoughts:

  • After reading “Walkaway” by Cory Doctorow, and thinking of my favorite book club perennial also-ran in voting, “2030” by Albert Brooks, we’re getting lots of scenario building and world building around the possible futures our present choices are creating.  It’s also hard for me to read 2140 and not think about the current US administration’s easing of climate legislation and rollback of environmental protection laws.  I worry that the events outlined in the book (and they are described with precise timelines) might be happening sooner than this book predicts; and also, although the Surges are catastrophic, Robinson outlines a viable world that exists after them (although the extent of devastation and displacement are not fully explored, since the story does not take place then) but a world where wealth inequality and the triumph of global capitalism are decisive and permanent.
  • I am an amateur enthusiast about the infrastructure and architecture of New York City and cities in general, so the discussion of the changes in the cityscape that the book describes are intensely interesting to me.  The book has a lot to say about present-day New York in its description of  the New York of 120 years in the future.
  • It’s also fascinating how Robinson describes both what has changed and what hasn’t changed.  The day-to-day of the denizens of future NYC is not very different than present-day, except perhaps with a lot more water.  Computing technology seems basically the same, and there’s some advancement in materials (carbon fiber and aerogels get mentioned) but these are still fundamentally New Yorkers, recognizable to us today as such.  I find it helpful to think about how 2018 New York would look to people at the turn of the 20th century–as far back from us know as we are from New York 2140.  New Yorkers would still be recognizable to us, the street grid is identical, and many of the buildings would still be there (especially north of the intertidal in the 30th-streets area).

I’m gonna get back to reading and hopefully comment more.  I just wanted to mark a few thoughts while I can.  This is an amazing book and certainly worthy of its Hugo nomination.

 

 

 

 

EDUCAUSE 2017–Quick Takes

In previous years I’ve done a complete blow-by-blow of the entire conference, and that’s really not useful anymore–many of the experiences are the same or similar from year to year, and honestly, I know and talk to a lot of people and to try and name them all would just be self-indulgent.  I’ll just go over some of my personal observations:

  • I was plagued by a few issues from home which sometimes distracted my focus but also simultaneously gave me clarity on the things I need to be doing to improve the situation on campus.  I have started to formulate a plan.  I know John O’Brien in his opening speech said that “your emails will still be there” when you get back, and that is certainly true, but the job may not be if you don’t address the issues.
  • As always I got to have some great conversations with my Frye classmates.  It was a great time to get a reading and just make sure we’re doing what we need to be and to work through challenges.
  • I was again blown away by the quality of the EDUCAUSE Award winners.  I know that’s funny to say since I helped pick them but to hear them talk just makes me even happier that we were able to select them.
  • I was excited about the opening keynote the most, but it ended up being a lot of “This is what a 1960s futurist thinks of the future” stuff, very optimistic without any sense of the issues that the future he describes would bring; and a few descriptions and terms that felt very outdated with our current sensibilities.  It was fun to watch the Twitter stream slowly start to become more skeptical of the predictions and context thereof as the speech progressed.
  • The second keynote also brought up some issues of big data, but it was interesting to hear how you can be persuasive with data and change people’s behavior.
  • Temple Grandin was an incredible whirlwind and her talk gave us a window into her mind.  She is a powerful example of why people on the spectrum are not “broken”, they’re just different, and helping them use their difference positively is a tremendous benefit to society.  It fit in well with the other thoughts of diversity, equity, and inclusion that I interacted with during the conference.
  • Much of my conference dealt with issues of “diversity, equity, and inclusion”.  I went to a lot of sessions about it, and thought about it a lot, especially in the context of the recent revelations from the entertainment world.   Also, as I am now working in a considerably more diverse environment than my previous institution, the ideas of how to keep the experience of my employees as inclusive of their differences as possible is foremost in my mind, and providing them the opportunities they need and deserve will continue to be a priority.
  • One thing (as I finish up this abandoned draft from a few months ago ;-)) that I’ve been thinking of is what it means to be good at things.  Defining success and whatnot.  I’m still working on that in some ways.  Stay tuned.
  • A shout-out to Tim Chester and his organizing the second annual (unofficial) EDUCAUSE Fun Run.  The obvious choice was up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, and we had about 20 people this time (in Anaheim in 2016 it was three of us!)

All in all, EDUCAUSE remains my premier professional development event, and I will continue to participate fully,  as an attendee, as a volunteer whenever my professional association needs me, and hopefully this year as a co-presenter with some great colleagues.  I cannot recommend it highly enough and hope to see many of you in Denver this fall.

 

EDUCAUSE 2017

I should probably be packing for EDUCAUSE 2017 at this point, but I’m going to blog instead.

Again, go back through the blog for my evergreen observations about the conference.  I’m really looking forward to this year though.  Philadelphia’s a great city for a conference, the conference center is great (although I hope they’ve improved the wayfinding signs since 2011, because they were very confusing back then). I love taking the train to a conference instead of flying (going to NERCOMP in Providence on the train was a treat as well.)  My standard trick of “find people you like to hear, and go to their presentations” worked so well I actually had to cull a few presentations because I had too many choices that way.  I have also found myself making actual appointments with friends and colleagues to make sure I see them (although I almost always find everyone I want to check in with at least once.)  I think I will have to eat dinner 6 times a day though to get to everyone I want to dine with.

If you’re somehow a fan of this blog or my Twitter or whatever, and we’ve never been formally introduced, please take the time to seek me out and say hi.  Certainly saying “I’m a big fan of your blog!” is a great way to break the ice and start a conversation!   I may drag you out to dinner or drinks with whomever I’m with, though, so be warned.   Also, keep in mind the big round lunch tables are a great way to meet people–follow up with someone from a presentation, someone you met briefly in the hallway, etc.  I also usually end up in the CIO lounge a bit, if only because of the high concentration of people I like to talk to, and I suggest you do the same.  I’ll be frequently Tweeting during the conference, and probably sharing my location when I’m somewhere I want company.  And if you’re trying to exercise and want to come out, please join us in the fun run Thursday morning (I’ll be in the slow group).

See many of you tomorrow!

Book Club–“Weapons of Math Destruction”, part 3

I’m going to go in a little different direction this week–less on personal reflections, and trying to more directly answer Bryan Alexander’s discussion questions from his post on this week’s readings.

Continue reading Book Club–“Weapons of Math Destruction”, part 3

Book Club–“Weapons of Math Destruction”, part 2

I’m still here.  Again, I’ll point you to Bryan Alexander’s summary of Chapters 2 and 3, and just add some personal reflections on what the chapters meant to me.

Continue reading Book Club–“Weapons of Math Destruction”, part 2