February 27, 2008
Clifford named new leader of OnePurdue's ESA team
Rita Clifford, the OnePurdue director of operations, will assume leadership of the project's Enrollment and Student Affairs (ESA) team on April 1. Gary Newsom, OnePurdue executive director, made the announcement last week.
Clifford will take over for Lori Shipley, who has accepted a position at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
"Rita has been involved with OnePurdue since day one," Newsom said, "and we're fortunate to be in a position where we can have a smooth leadership transition to someone who knows this project well."
Pam Horne, assistant vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions, said, "We're going to miss Lori very much. But the terrific team she organized and inspired at OnePurdue will continue its fine work under Rita and Gary's leadership.
"This is also a wonderful career opportunity for Lori. She'll have responsibility for the beginning phases, and eventual implementation, of Vanderbilt's new student systems."
Shipley, who has worked at Purdue for 12 years, has led the ESA team since OnePurdue officially began in July 2005.
"I'm really honored to have played a role in the success of this project," Shipley said, "and know that Rita will continue that excellence."
Horne agrees.
"Rita has a lot of experience in project management and applications development at ITaP (Information Technology at Purdue)."
Prior to joining OnePurdue, Clifford served as the director of organizational effectiveness in ITaP's Enterprise Applications unit. She graduated from Purdue in 1988 with a degree in computer technology, and has held in a variety of information technology positions during her 14 years at the University.
"I'm very excited about this," Clifford said. "We have a great team of expert technical and functional staff, experienced consultants, and process owners and executive sponsors who have supported us all the way.
"We're all committed to the continued success of OnePurdue."