FOCUS ON THE CORE: Podcast interview with Deirdre Woods, CIO, the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania
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Life is far from dull for CIO Deirdre Woods at the University of
Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School. She and her team divide
their time among a host of constituents, interests, and tasks, from
working with faculty on research projects to supporting blogs where
current students can share information and their views with prospective
students. The pace and scope of all this might easily distract,
sidetrack, and overwhelm even a high-energy individual like Woods,
multiple times per day. But she and her staff live by one mantra: Focus
on the institution's core mission. And from that focus, and the
alignment it's ensured between IT and the school's business objectives
comes a rich and collaborative environment where everyone can grow.
"We want to be seen as more than just the geeks who run the
computers," comments Woods, so she works to provide career
opportunities for Wharton graduates with top technology vendors; to
develop computer simulations, games, and learning modules of real-world
business scenarios; and, just for good measure, to build technology
tools that have brought in significant revenue for Wharton.
Tune in to Tom Parish's lively conversation with a technology expert
who extends IT's role far beyond just keeping the desktops running --
to entrepreneurship, to problem-based education, and to academic
research -- and find out how she and her group take an active role in
educating the CIOs and CEOs of tomorrow.
Resources
Powerful Partnerships: Here's how the Wharton School has leveraged IT vendor collaboration to reap unexpected rewards.
CIOS Make Project Management Skills a Priority
Bio
Deirdre Woods was named CIO and associate dean of the
University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 2004, having begun her
career in IT at Wharton in 1990. In this role, Woods leads a 95-person
organization at Wharton Computing in developing and maintaining
technologies that further the School’s leadership in experience-based
learning.
Production Credits
Dana Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host
Kimberly Stone, Web Development Manager
Scott Ebner, Web Developer