Strategic Planning, Re-organization, Funding

Walt Milligan, 10/25/2006

The Chief Information Officer position was approved in Fall, 2005, on the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Information Technology Needs Committee (BRITNC), whose report may be found here. The position was filled by Walt Milligan, after an internal search, on July 1, 2006.

The expectations of the CIO were detailed in a letter from Provost Dave Reed. They are summarized word-for-word in a slide that was prepared for public presentations, and is available here.

The job expectations may be summarized as follows: conduct strategic planning, resulting in proposals for more efficient utilization of information technology resources on campus. I would like to add an important clause to this: for the benefit of the users.

The first phase of this has involved information gathering, to understand the campus and the IT-related issues. Milligan has met with over 170 faculty and staff, mainly in 1-on-1 meetings in their facilities, since June 2006. Many issues have been identified. A preliminary summary was given at the Senate meeting on September 6, 2006. A copy of the slides shown at that meeting is available here.

The most pressing issues include:

  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Organizational structure
  • Funding model

Better communication is being partially addressed by this website. There are literally a hundred other issues that were identified in these interviews, and they are being summarized and quantified presently.

The next step in the strategic planning process is to convene an advisory structure to study the issues and possible solutions. Drafts of committee structures have been discussed by key people, and the structure stands as follows. People are being invited officially to join these committees over the next several weeks.

Technology Leadership Council (TLC)

This is loosely modeled after a similar body at Syracuse University, who faced many of the same issues as Michigan Tech, but who are about 3 years ahead of us in the strategic planning process. This Council will be more than an advisory committee, and will have some decision-making ability. It will consist of Directors of IT units, Chairs of the working committees, and at-large faculty and staff members. This body will study all the important issues, and will take the lead on any re-organization proposals. It will be the main strategy-making body.

Funding Model Committee

No one is happy with the current funding model at Michigan Tech, as seen in the slide show linked above. It drives a tremendous amount of irrational behavior. This committee will investigate alternatives.

Other committees with self-explanatory names are being established:

Classroom Technology Committee

Wireless Networking Committee

Campus Computing Standards and Security Committee

Campus-Wide Software and Hardware Coordination Committee

Membership on these committees will be very broad across campus and disciplines. The goal is to be as inclusive as possible.

I would like to make a very sincere and important statement regarding re-organization. All stakeholders will be involved in these deliberations, even if they are not on the committees. No one will be re-organized without their input and constructive engagement.

Finally, I would like to point out that in this context, re-organization is not a code word for layoffs. Re-organization is a code word for re-organization.

Check back for updates and more detailed information.

Comments are always appreciated, in person, by phone, or by e-mail. I am maintaining an open-door policy and will be pleased to meet with anyone who may be interested.