June 2, 2010
To: UCOP
Community
From: David J. Ernst, Associate Vice President and Systemwide CIO, Information Resources and Communications
Services
I am pleased to announce the promotion of Paul Weiss to a new role as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Office of the President. In this position, Paul will continue to report to me and serve as my deputy in my capacity as systemwide CIO.
As you know, the University is turning to Information Technology (IT) for tools and solutions to maximize efficiency and increase effectiveness in these very tight budgetary times. As a result, there is significant pressure to pursue systemwide collaboration on technology initiatives such as regional data centers and shared research computing services, and other initiatives that eventually will have a significant IT component, such as the payroll business process review currently underway. At the same time, Information Resources and Communications (IR&C) in the Office of the President is being asked to provide more and more direct IT services both at UCOP and to support the campuses in areas such as payroll operations and mainframe consolidation.
These increased demands have made it important to realign the roles that Paul and I play in the department and to better distribute the work load and responsibilities as well as provide clarity to our clients. While I will continue to provide guidance and support with regard to the UCOP IT services, on a daily basis I will focus more on systemwide IT initiatives, working with the IT Leadership Council (campus and medical center CIOs) on UC wide collaboration and policy issues, reporting to the Regents, and serving as Chair of the Corporation for Education Networking Initiatives in California (CENIC.)
Paul will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership and direction for IR&C operations and activities that serve UCOP, the campuses, or both. He and I will collaborate on budget and staffing issues across the organization as we do today. Paul will continue to act on my behalf for all IR&C issues in my absence.
We are also considering further organizational realignments and streamlining to position IR&C to best provide high-quality service in these times of high demand and modest resources. We welcome any feedback you may have regarding our services and how we can better organize to serve you.
