Higher Ed CIO/CFO Relationships Lead to Success

Historically, college IT units have been characterized as “cost centers” performing an increasingly critical function for the college’s educational and administrative mission but representing an increasingly expensive part of the budget. Each year, IT services across campus have become more expensive as faculty members, administrators, and students demand access to the latest hardware and software. IT budgets are taxed to keep up.

As college IT units have become increasingly sophisticated, however, they have developed the capacity to be more than a technological “heat sink.” IT units have the capacity to initiate projects that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching thereby reducing the costs of student success. Additionally, IT units have opportunities to develop projects that can increase the revenue base of the college. These opportunities clearly move the IT unit from a “cost center” to a strategic revenue center for the college.

This shift in focus is obvious at the very large universities. The development of extensive online degree programs by universities such as Southern New Hampshire University or Arizona State University or the absorption of a for-profit university by Purdue University clearly bring these universities’ IT units into a different place within the university budget. These opportunities are not restricted to large universities, however. There are many opportunities for the IT units of small colleges to implement similar strategies.

Shifting the focus from “cost center” to “revenue center” requires a close partnership between CIOs and CFOs. This Meetup will explore several of those partnerships. We will be accompanied by Ray Lefebvre, the CIO at Bridgewater State University; Debra Gelch, CIO at Curry College; and Doug Shropshire, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at BSU to talk to us about their partnership philosophy and to share examples of projects that have shifted the focus of the IT unit.

We will be meeting over breakfast from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM on January 31st at Showa Institute for Language and Culture. On-site parking is available.

PLEASE NOTE: NO SALES WILL BE ALLOWED DURING THIS MEETING.

Learn more about our guest speakers below:

RAYMOND LEFEBVRE

After joining Bridgewater State University in 2012 as an Assistant Vice President of Applications and Development, Raymond Lefebvre assumed the role of Assistant Vice President of IT before becoming the CIO and Vice President of IT in 2015. Before BSU, Mr. Lefebvre was also the Director of Database and Reporting Systems at the UMass Medical School. With over 30 years of experience managing information technology in both private and public sectors, Mr. Lefebvre has plenty to draw from for our discussion on the relationship between CIOs and CFOs.

DEBORAH GELCH

As a Chief Information Officer in the Higher Ed sector for the past 17 years, Deborah Gelch has been a driving force for innovation and institutional growth through information technology. Prior to joining Curry College, Ms. Gelch worked as the Director of IT for several institutions under a shared IT organization, which included Lasell College, Pine Manor College, and Lasell Village, before becoming CIO in 2001 and CISO in 2014. Her insight into the ever-evolving role of Chief Information Officer will be vital to our discussion.

DOUG SHROPSHIRE

Before joining Bridgewater State University as the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Doug Shropshire was the CFO at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth and at Derby Academy, an independent school for pre-K to 8th grade. With a combined 27 years of experience in the role, Mr. Shropshire will be representing his side of the CIO/CFO relationship during our meeting. His financial expertise will be crucial to our discussion of how IT departments can shift from being cost centers to being revenue centers for their institutions.