Vice President for Information Services

April 2024 | New York, NY

Baruch College seeks a Vice President for Information Services and Chief Information Officer to as chief strategist and lead administrator for all aspects of information technology.

About Baruch College

Baruch College has a long and storied history of advocating and pioneering for change in public higher education. Regularly ranked among the region’s and nation’s top college’s by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, Princeton Review, and others, Baruch is within easy reach of Wall Street, Midtown, and the global headquarters of major companies and non-profit and cultural organizations, giving students unparalleled internship, career, and networking opportunities. The College’s more than 19,500 students, who speak more than 110 languages and trace their heritage to more than 168 countries, have been repeatedly named one of the most ethnically diverse student populations in the United States. Over the past decade, the College has experienced an era of historic growth in its facilities, degree offerings, global reach, and student support services. It has earned praise in the news media for providing excellent academics at an affordable price.

In 2020, Baruch College welcomed S. David Wu, PhD, as its eight president and the first Asian American to lead a CUNY college. Dr. Wu joined Baruch at an auspicious time as the College develops new and responsive models for teaching, research, student services, and campus safety in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In his words,

“The vision for Baruch is audacious and sets it apart from the norms in higher education. It demands academic standards and rigor comparable to any top U.S. institution while providing affordable access to students who are largely underrepresented in the system of higher learning. This distinction echoes a central theme in my thinking for Baruch’s future: in epitomizing both academic excellence and social mobility, Baruch is poised to lead in the shifting landscape of higher education.

The impact of Baruch is profound, both as a private good-one that advances our students’ personal and career success-and a public good, creating much needed social change, innovation, and economic prosperity for our city, and our world. Drawing on this legacy, we must use the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic to put Baruch on a path to transformation that allows us to deliver our mission with more fluidity and ever-better quality. At the same time, we must help hard hit communities in New York City to recover from Covid.” -President David Wu

As he leads Baruch into a new era, Dr. Wu’s aim is to challenge higher education isomorphism—the gravitational pull toward status quo and stagnation, rather than change and innovation—and expand Baruch’s national reach. The College already offers a rare amalgam of academic achievement and upward mobility for diverse students from all echelons of society. With national rankings and accolades affirming what is now a distinctive niche, Baruch could emerge as a new model for higher education: Institutions that insist on academic excellence at the highest level while concurrently expanding their base to support historically underserved students in such a rigorous intellectual environment.

To that end, Baruch recently completed a major strategic plan for 2023-2028, Baruch 2028: Unstoppable, which outlines four priority areas: (1) Maximize Students’ Potential to Succeed; (2) Promote Excellence in Research and Impactful Teaching; (3) Strengthen Our Collaborative and Engaged Community; and (4) Optimize Operations and Infrastructure. Information services and technology runs through these priorities and is a critical part to meeting the College’s institutional mission.

About the Opportunity

Reporting to the President of Baruch College, The Vice President for Information Services/Chief Information Officer (VP IS/CIO) will play a critical role in providing institutional leadership in the realm of technology that ensures institutional success at the College. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, the VP IS/CIO is responsible for planning, implementation, and supervision of all information technology projects at Baruch College while coordinating CUNY-wide academic and administrative technology initiatives representing the campus perspective. The VP IS/CIO works with all stakeholder groups to ensure that technology resources are responsive to the evolving needs of the campus community—who is increasingly reliant on responsive, agile, and multiple modalities of technology for teaching, learning and working. The VP IS/CIO works collaboratively with fellow cabinet members to plan, organize, and direct institutional operations. The VP IS/CIO ensures quality and compliance of all internal departments with policies including but not limited to State, City, and CUNY policies and interprets them for dissemination and implementation across the College. The VP IS/CIO is well acquainted with higher education standards, laws, and regulations to ensure compliance and best practices as they pertain to information technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as chief strategist and lead administrator for all aspects of information technology including: telecommunications, network services, enterprise systems, classroom technologies, student computer labs, central help desk, instructional design services, and media services for events and instruction.
• Provide leadership in the development, implementation and evaluation of college policies, procedures and guidelines pertaining to information technology.
• Provide leadership in assessing operational and technology needs, and formulating strategies and work plans to achieve integrated, efficient and cost-effective technology solutions.
• Develop and implement an information technology strategic plan in alignment with the Baruch College strategic plan and CUNY’s IT development plans in order to meet emerging and future needs.
• Implement technology innovations and improvements based on continual assessment of institutional technology needs.
• Partner with campus leadership on strategies that will enhance the teaching and learning process in collaboration with the Provost and Academic Deans as it pertains to computing and instructional technology strategies.
• Consult with key stakeholders at the College, and coordinate with the CUNY system to inform technology practices, training and policymaking.
• Provide guidance to the campus leadership on emerging challenges to cyber security faced by academic institutions and leads initiatives to implement strategies to effectively reduce vulnerability and mitigate risks.
• Consult with the CUNY Chief Information Officer in implementing procedures and technologies to ensure cyber security and other risks.
• Effectively manage technology operating and capital budgets.
• Manage key relationships with information technology vendors and service providers. Participate in vendor contract negotiations for new computer equipment, cloud computing and software purchases.
• Supervise a professional staff of approximately forty employees, fostering an inclusive work environment while encouraging a culture of efficiency, high performance and customer service.
• Serve as Baruch’s representative to the CUNY IT Steering Committee and chair the Baruch College Student Technology Fee Committee.

Key Qualifications

This position is administered in CUNY’s Executive Compensation Plan (ECP) and all executive positions require a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree and eight years’ related experience.

A preferred candidate should have:

• Superior and collaborative leadership experience in a complex organization with a commitment to open and transparent style of communication; a firm understanding and a commitment to the College’s teaching and research mission, a sense of service to the College’s diverse student population and all internal and external constituencies.
• A BS/BA degree in computer information systems, business administration or management, computer science, computer engineering or a related field. An advanced degree in one of these disciplines is highly desirable.
• Strong leadership skills and at least 8 years of information technology experience working in higher education or comparable settings, with a particular focus on complex multi-divisional information technology collaborations.
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written, to a wide variety of audiences, including the students, staff, faculty, alumni, trustees, and public officials.
• Creative and strategic thinking with excellent planning, execution, administrative, leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Crisis management skills and serve as an institutional operational lead in a wide variety of situations as required.
• Knowledge and experience creating and implementing strategic plans for community collaborative frameworks for information technology personnel.
• Experience and proficiency with project management.
• Advanced knowledge of information technology hardware and software, end-user computing devices, computing networks, server and database systems, and system design.
• Successful proven experience supervising information technology teams, including with users of information technology resources, managing budgets, and administering contracts with information technology hardware, software, and telecommunications vendors.
• Excellent management skills with a particular focus on setting clear goals that lead to concrete actions and measurable outcomes.

Compensation

$200,000 – $230,000/year. Salary commensurate with education and experience.

CUNY encourages people with disabilities, minorities, veterans and women to apply. At CUNY, Italian Americans are also included among protected groups. Applicants and employees will not be discriminated against on the basis of any legally protected category, including sexual orientation or gender identity. EEO/AA/Vet/Disability Employer.

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume in confidence through the form below by October 9^th, 2023.

Kieran McTague

Senior Vice President, Principal

Development Guild DDI