Office of the Chief Information Officer

(CIO)

The CIO at East Tennessee State University is responsible for planning, policies, and frameworks that support Information Technology Services (ITS) initiatives designed to improve student experiences, teaching and learning experiences, as well as administrative and research computing. This includes leadership of the Information Technology Council (ITC), which provides the information technology governance structure at ETSU. 

Goals:

    1. Provide a robust and secure information technology infrastructure. 
    2. Support the strategic growth of ETSU Online. 
    3. Create a culture of service in ITS.
    4. Support excellence in teaching. 
    5. Support the ETSU Health infrastructure. 
    6. Enhance the research computing infrastructure. 

 

Please visit our departments/units page for a list of areas within ITS and employees in each area.

Information Technology Services and East Tennessee State University looked very different a year ago, and today it feels like a lifetime ago. A global pan- demic, social injustice and upheaval, economic crisis, and the rapid transforma- tion to remote teaching, learning, and working makes the experiences of the past 18 months truly unique. Any one of these things alone would have a major impact on our campus so it is with great pride that I can say the commitment of those in ITS to serve the ETSU community remained constant throughout these unexpected times. We never really know how we will respond to tragic circumstances until we are tested. ITS may not be perfect, but I can tell you for sure that we are tried and true and we all care about ETSU. And when the dust settled, we discovered that nothing really changed except our opportunities. 

We began the year with strategic assessments, hires, and organizational adjustments that aligned us with best practices and helped release our collective potential. As the pandemic began, ITS provided the infrastructure and support for the university to seamlessly transition to remote operations. We packed three years of transformation into two weeks. With each new challenge, ITS staff exceeded expectations again and again. While I cannot mention all accomplishments here, in addition to the support for remote work and instruction, our team also launched the inaugural ETSU Esports Team, created new internal processes to manage IT projects, leveraged technologies to create efficiencies, increased data security, improved outdoor WiFi, and provided virtual compute spaces for our students. The knowledge that each of us plays an equally critical role became clear over the past year and learning that about ourselves has led to the creation of an impressive and forward thinking team. 

Our team has accomplished much over the past year and a half. But, it is important to stress that every accomplishment is the product of alliances, connections, and collaborations. Below are only a few examples of why I am intensely proud of our team and why I am honored to be a part of the ITS/ETSU family. 

Go Bucs,
Dr. Karen King

Examples of Accomplishments:

    • Esports Team 
    • Culp Video Wall
    • New ETSU Web Template
    • Project Management Implementation
    • Computing Technology Services remained On Campus during the entire lockdown period.  
    • Digital Signage
    • Help Desk Operations
    • Transition to Remote Teaching 
    • Equipment Checkout for Staff and Students
    • Outdoor WiFi Upgrade

Comments to Dr. King