CWRU names Mark Henderson interim CIO, VP for Information Technology Services

CWRU's Mark HendersonProvost W.A. “Bud” Baeslack III announced today that he has appointed Mark Henderson as the university’s interim vice president for Information Technology Services (ITS) and chief information officer.

Henderson, who has served as the university’s associate vice president for ITS since the beginning of 2010, will fill the position that Lev Gonick vacated when he became chief executive officer at OneCommunity this month.

“Mark’s work at Case Western Reserve and his breadth of experience in higher education and the private sector make him well suited to lead ITS during this time,” Baeslack said. “We are grateful for his willingness to step into this role as we prepare for the arrival of students and the start of a new academic year next month.”

Henderson came to Case Western Reserve after six years at General Electric, first as the leader in Global Network Operations and then as the leader for technology services to the company’s global aviation services units. Prior to his time at GE, he spent four years at the University of Maryland, first as the deputy chief information officer and then, in his last 13 months as the interim vice president and chief information officer. Henderson also spent four years in information technology roles at the University of Cincinnati.

“I welcome the opportunity to continue the outstanding work of the staff of ITS,” Henderson said, “and to find new ways to enhance the support we provide to faculty, staff and students.”

ITS is responsible for functions ranging from network connectivity in residence halls to high-performance computing for researchers. The office manages more than 200 Technology Enhanced Classrooms and MediaVision Courseware, as well as customer service training and support and a wide range of information security initiatives. In the past academic year ITS collaborated with the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences to launch the university’s first online degree program; this spring ITS worked with faculty and Coursera to offer two massive open online courses (MOOCs), one in international criminal law and the other in the use of emotional intelligence in leadership.

ITS also opened a unique Active Collaboration Room in Kelvin Smith Library that features TelePresence technology as well as six other spaces with high-definition TelePresence units. ITS and the Office of the Provost are collaborating on additional online education programs for the coming academic year; ITS also is creating two new Active Learning Classrooms for use when students arrive next month, and working with a dozen Active Learning Fellows to redesign their courses to apply this new pedagogical approach.

“This is a tremendously exciting time to be involved in higher education and technology,” Henderson said. “We are gratified by the enthusiasm faculty have shown for these new opportunities and the encouragement we have received from the Provost’s Office.”

Baeslack said that the university will conduct a national search to find Case Western Reserve’s next permanent leader for ITS. He added that the process will involve extensive involvement from constituencies across the campus. The Daily will feature more information about the search as it becomes available.