Purdue's CIO one of nation's 'Premier 100'
April 8, 2015
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Gerry McCartney, chief information officer and vice president for information technology at Purdue University, has been named one of the nation's top 100 IT executives by Computerworld. (Purdue University photo) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Gerry McCartney, Purdue University’s chief information officer, has been named one of the top CIOs in the nation by Computerworld.
McCartney, who also holds the titles of vice president for information technology and the Oesterle Professor of Technology, received the award on April 1 at the Agenda15 conference in Amelia Island, Florida.
Purdue President Mitch Daniels said one key to McCartney's success is that he goes beyond the standard definition of a CIO.
“Today, a CIO is always among a handful of the most important people in any large organization, and nowhere is that more true than at a research university like Purdue,” Daniels said. “Gerry McCartney equips his colleagues to do their most productive work, and saves Purdue money while doing so. Moreover, he’s one of the most creative and imaginative thinkers. He richly deserves this award and the many others that keep coming his way.”
McCartney has served as CIO of Purdue since 2007. During his tenure, Purdue has developed the nation's largest campus cyberinfrastructure for research, with three supercomputers currently listed in the internationally known Top500 list; the nation’s largest academic distributed computing grid, Diagrid; and the largest collection of science and medical online hubs. Under McCartney’s leadership, Purdue also has developed some of the nation's most advanced learning and classroom technologies, including the data analytics program Signals and a suite of mobile apps, including the Hotseat app for class discussion.
McCartney led the development of the university's "big data" effort, which included forming the university's Office for Institutional Research and Effectiveness. McCartney also launched the Purdue Pathmaker Program, an on-campus internship program for students through which major corporations such as Intel, HP, Cisco and EMC hire students to perform part-time, career-relevant work.
Computerworld's website receives more than 7 million monthly visitors. The media company has been naming their "Premier 100" each year since 2000 based on their own "IT Leader Index."
"The Premier 100 awards program showcases the innovative work of a dedicated group of IT leaders who are using technology to solve business problems in their organizations," said Scot Finnie, editor-in-chief of Computerworld. "Every day, these tech-savvy professionals are positioning their organizations for success by mapping IT projects to strategic business initiatives. They also ensure that their departments are set up to quickly enable new ideas, and they balance the need for free and open access to information with concerns about security and compliance. These 100 men and women are using their vast experience in managing people and projects to stay a step ahead. We're pleased to recognize their leadership and honor their achievements."
Corporations represented by their CIOs included MasterCard, Intel, NBCUniversal, PayPal, Equifax, Verizon, Dell, UPS, Merck, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola Enterprises, General Electric, Monsanto, Microsoft, Capital One, as well as the White House. McCartney was among six representatives from higher education on the list.
Previously, McCartney received the 2013 Global Leader in IT Value Award from the Innovation Value Institute, which is based at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Before becoming CIO at Purdue, McCartney served for two years as assistant dean for technology at Purdue's Krannert School of Management, where he taught in the MBA, executive MBA and engineering management programs. From 1993 to 2004, McCartney was associate dean and chief information officer at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Writer: Steve Tally, 765-494-9809, tally@purdue.edu, Twitter: sciencewriter
Sources: Mitch Daniels, president@purdue.edu
Gerry McCartney, 765-496-2270, mccart@purdue.edu, Twitter: @gerrymccartney
