TechNova: IT Strategic Planning

Start Date:

October 2024

End Date:

November 2024

Goals:

• Perform an initial assessment of the University Information Technologies.
• Devise a detailed project timeline for a collaborative planning process.

Description:

University Information Technologies engaged with Next Generation Partners to assist us with the planning and facilitation of our strategic planning process. In partnership with Villanova University leadership, we identified three distinct phases of work that would be the focus of this project:

• Develop a statement of vision and core organizational values that enhance our team’s cohesion and shared sense of purpose.
• Develop a multi-year IT strategic plan for the University that establishes goals, priorities and required investments to support Villanova’s academic and administrative priorities.
• Devise an improved IT decision-making structure to engage the University community in on-going discussions of needs, priorities and changes.

Start Date:

December 2024

End Date:

February 2025

Goals:

• Define organizational vision and values.
• Align organizational branding with vision and values.

Description:

Our VP and CIO (Tej Patel) charged a working group of UNIT staff to work with our facilitator, Next Generation Partners. We aimed to take a staff-led approach in...

• Defining UNIT’s core values and establishing a vision statement that will guide our division’s future.
• Crafting a renewed identity and purpose that aligns UNIT with a positive, measurable impact on the Villanova community. 
• Exploring a rebranding effort that reflects our forward-thinking mission.

Start Date:

December 2024

End Date:

May 2025

Goals:

• Identify the focus areas where University technology needs are currently unmet or undergoing substantial changes.
• Work with campus stakeholders to define goals, strategies and priorities around identified focus areas.
• Draft an integrated plan that synthesizes the results of the focus area discussions and seek feedback from the campus community.

Description:

In partnership with Villanova leadership and University Information Technologies, Next Generation Partners identified 5 opportunities to center our working groups and discussions around in this phase:

1. IT Operational Excellence
   • Building trust and partnership
   • Improved sustainability, user experience and security of technology
   • IT staffing and professional development
   • Work methods, processes and metrics
      
2. Student Experience
   • Enabling the journey from prospect to alumni
   • Supporting University student success strategies
   • Harnessing AI to support engagement and delivery of services
   • Enhancing digital access and equity
      
3. Digital Processes and the Future of Work
   
   • Faculty, staff and collaborator experiences
   • Managing digital identities and access to service
   • Ethical and effective AI adoption
   • Building the community’s digital skills
   • Future enterprise application portfolio
      
4. Teaching, Learning & Research Technologies
   
   • Enhancing & facilitating learning space design and capabilities
   • Supporting discovery, evaluation and adoption of technologies
   • Future needs for research compute, storage & support
      
5. Enterprise AI, Enterprise Data & Analytics
   
   • Enable data governance
   • Readying data to benefit from AI capabilities
   • Future data environments and tools
   • Organizational capabilities

Start Date:

December 2024

End Date:

May 2025

Goals:

• Develop updated principles and structure for IT decision-making and meaningful stakeholder engagement at Villanova.

Description:

Next Generation Partners will interview campus stakeholders and focus groups; partnering with the Villanova IT Strategic Planning Advisory Council to:

• Identify past successes and opportunities that can inform an improved approach to IT decision-making and campus stakeholder engagement.
• Develop and build consensus for a long-term IT decision-making structure.
• Develop principles and structures to enable University IT to engage and receive timely, actionable input from diverse stakeholders including students, faculty,staff and alumni.

Start Date:

June 2025

Goals:

• Finalize and execute a rebranding effort for University IT.
  
• Finalize and begin work towards a new strategic plan for University IT.
• Finalize and kick-off new IT decision-making process for University IT.
• Finalize campus engagement strategy to assess and communicate progress.
  

Description:

University Information Technologies and Next Generation Partners will organize opportunities for the Villanova Community to engage and understand the changes to University IT's brand, values, strategy, and collaboration. We will work to ensure:

• Increased responsiveness to evolving needs of the Villanova community.
• Increased agility through focusing on continual improvement opportunities.
  
• Increased visibility through dashboards and communications.
• Increased accountibility through named goal ownership and reporting.
  

Executive Sponsor(s)

• Tej Patel
  Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
  

Project Manager(s)

• Jonathan B. Hardy
  Deputy Chief Information Officer

External Facilitator(s)

• Phil Goldstein
  Managing Partner at Next Generation Partners
• Mary Beth Baker
  Managing Partner at Next Generation Partners

The TechNova IT Strategic Planning Advisory Council, comprising representatives from across Villanova community, has been established to provide strategic guidance and oversight. This council will play a key role in shaping the initiative's approach, reviewing outcomes from each phase, ensuring alignment with University priorities, and steering recommendations toward actionable and impactful results.

Administrative Leadership

• Tej Patel
  Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
  
• Roger Demareski
  Executive Vice President for Administration and Operations
• Neil Horgan
  Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer
  
• Ray Duffy
  Vice President for Human Resources
  
• Courtney Henry
  Chief Internal Auditor & University Compliance Officer
• Marci Paton
  Assistant Vice President for Development Operations

Academic Leadership

• Tim Hoffman
  Vice Provost for Finance & Administration
• Amanda Grannas
  Vice Provost and Chief Research Officer
• Randy Weinstein
  Vice Provost for Learning & Teaching
• Kristy Irwin
  Associate Vice Provost for Online Programs
• Cathy Connor
  Vice Dean for Enrollment Management
• Trina Das
  Associate Vice Provost for Decision Support & Data Integrity

College/School Representatives

• Christine Palus
  Dean, College of Professional Studies
• Kevin Minbiole
  CLAS Deans Office and Faculty
• Jared Paul
  Professor of Chemistry
• Aaron Wemhoff
  Engineering Faculty and Research Computing
• Maria Pavelsky
  Assistant Dean Finance & Administration, Nursing
• Nitindra Joglekar
  Associate Professor, VSB Management

Student Representatives

• Zack Yekta
  Undergraduate Student
• Maria Alejandra Molina Funes
  Graduate Student
  

IT Vision and Values Working Group

• Julien Rossow-Greenberg [Co-Chair]
  Director, Customer Experience & Support
• Emily Wilms [Co-Chair]
  Senior Applications Specialist
  
• Rose Emerick
  HR Campus Partner
• Josh Palmerio
  Campus Card Operations Manager
• Jennifer Pohlhaus
  Senior Instructional Technologies Consultant
• Vince Czyzweski
  Director, Network and Communication Services
• Mike Kriwonis
  Senior Manager, Linux Systems Administration
• Kevin Dietzler
  Manager, Application Development & Identity Management
• Grady Powell
  Manager, Support Services
• Gabby Verano
  IT Security Administrator
• Brian Baker
  Manager Classroom Technology
• Martin Fox
  Senior Business Systems Analyst
• Alicia Jessop-DeFreitas
  Financial Information Systems Analyst
   

IT Operational Excellence

• Anita Burry
  Information Technology Manager, College of Nursing
• Sharon Roth-DeFulvio
  Associate Director of Data & Technology, College of Professional Studies
• John DiSimone
  Director of Facilities Systems, Facilities Management
• Demian Katz
  Director of Library Technology, Falvey Library
• Jonathan Graziola
  Manager of IT Operations, College of Arts & Sciences
• Scott Hansen
  Manager of IT Operations, Business School
• Gavin Printz
  Senior Network Security Administrator, UNIT
• Pete Palladino
  Solutions Architect, UNIT
• Tim Ryan
  Assistant Director, Network & Communication Services, UNIT
• Julien Rossow-Greenberg
  Director, Customer Experience & Support, UNIT

Student Experience

• Sue Morgan
  Director of Technology Student Systems, Registrar's Office
• Alicia Dunphy-Culp
  Senior Director of First Year Experience, Student Life
• Emory Woodard
  Dean of Graduate Studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
• Pete Watkins
  Director of Teaching & Learning, College of Professional Studies
• Nick Gesacion
  Director of CRM Operations, Advancement
• Rev. John Abubakar
  Chief Sustainability Officer
• Katie Fischer
  Executive Director of President Communications and Board Relations
• Katie LeGrand
  Associate AD for Compliance, Athletics
• McKenzie Baldorossi
  Director of Strategic of Initiatives, Auxiliary Services
• Megan Pongratz
  Associate Director Career Development, Career Center
• Nicole Davis
  Associate Director for Retention and Outreach, CASA
• Kathy Gallagher
  Director, University Card Systems, UNIT
• Antony Lower
  Director for University Information Systems, UNIT

Digital Processes and the Future of Work

• Dan Kaufman
  Director of Talent Development, Human Resources
• Meghan Petsko
  Deputy Director of Records & Registration, Registrar
• Mike Zellman
  Executive Director Advancement Services, Advancement
• John Banionis
  Director of Resource Management and Description, Mission & Ministry
• Chuck Hoffman
  Bursar, Finance
• Chris Adams
  Associate VP Communications and Marketing, UCM
• Nataliya Westrate
  Research Accounting Manager, Research
• Michael Risch
  Professor of Law, Law School
• Jutta Seibert
  Director of Research Services and Scholarly Engagement, Falvey Library
• Andrew Camuso
  Executive Director of Dining Services
• Brian Galloway
  Assistant Dean of Enrollment Managment
• Kasia David
  Senior Enterprise Project Manager, UNIT
• Joshua Wharton
  Manager, Enterprise Applications, UNIT

Teaching, Learning and Research Technologies

• Moira McAndrews
  Director of Grants & Contracts, Assistant Vice Provost
• Jackie Parkinson
  Clinical Assistant Instructor, Nursing
• Millicent Gaskell
  Dean of Falvey Library
• Janice Bially Mattern
  Director of Institute for Research & Scholarship
• Stefan Perun
  Associate Director for Digital Learning Pedagogy, VITAL
• Andrew Lund
  Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
• Sylvie Lorente
  Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, Engineering
• Rishtee Batra
  Associate Teaching Professor of Marketing, Business School
• Seth Fishman
  Assistant Dean for Curriculum and Assessment, Arts & Sciences
• Julie Pirsch
  Teaching Professor of Marketing, Business School
• Kristin Obermyer
  Associate Instructor of Computing Sciences
• Dron Mandhana
  Assistant Professor of Communications
• Emily Harris
  Associate Director for Learning Support Services
• Brian Baker
  Manager Classroom Technology, UNIT
• Ankit Desai
  Director Learning Technologes, UNIT

Enterprise AI, Enterprise Data and Analytical Capabilities

• JJ Brown
  Director of Student Involvement, Student Life
• Geetha Soundararajan
  Associate Director of Business Intelligence, Advancement
• Tom DeMarco
  Associate VP and Dean of Students, Student Life
• Melanie Egan
  Director of Technology for Admissions, Registrar's
• Andrea Jones
  Senior Business Analyst, Facilities Management
• Mark Hewlett
  Associate General Counsel, General Counsel
• Ann Barrow McKenzie
  Assistant Dean of Strategic Initiatives, Nursing
• Melissa Langley
  Assistant Dean for Finance & Administration, Business School
• Sarah Lodise
  Director of Data Governance and Integrity
• Lynda Buzzard
  Associate Vice President for Finance and Controller
• Greg Shaffer
  Research Systems Manager, Contracts & Grants
• Kevin Grubb
  Associate Vice Provost for Career Center and Professional Development
• Maura Ewing
  Senior Director of Information Systems & Data, Human Resources
• Toyin Joseph
  Manager for Business Intelligence and Analytics, UNIT
• Jennifer Pohlhaus
  Senior Instructional Technologies Consultant, UNIT
  

IT Operational Excellence: Customer Focus Group

• Andrew Mazar
  Director of Operations & Assessment, Career Center
• Bonnie Lyons
  Director of Central Services, Graphic Services
• David Roth
  Interim Director of Maintenance, Facilities Management
• Megan Jacobs
  Director of Physical Security & Life Safety Systems, Public Safety
• Sandy Upton
  Director of Development Solution Design, Advancement
• Sarah Caffrey
  Associate VP Strategy and Innovation, Finance
• Nick Tumolo
  Director of University Events and Initiatives, President's Office
• Vincent Ciuccoli
  Associate VP of Cabrini Operations
• Brian Beacham
  Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Athletics Operating Officer
• Chris Kovolski
  Assistant VP for Government Relations and External Affairs
• Jennifer Derry
  Assistant VP, Human Resources
• Kyle Scudilla
  Director of Finance and Business Operations, UNIT