Dear Colleagues,

We invite your participation in an important initiative to plan the future of Wake Forest University’s information technology. Our objectives are to identify gaps in current technology capabilities, to generate ideas to improve the use of technology to support institutional priorities, and to define roadmaps to build the organizational and technology capabilities required. The scope is broad and will consider the many ways we use technology in learning, research, administration/operations, communications and assessment.

We have retained higher education IT consultants Phil Goldstein and Mary Beth Baker to assess our current state and facilitate a process to define future directions. Phil and Mary Beth work extensively in IT planning and have performed similar work for many institutions including, Brown University, Smith College, Case Western Reserve University, St. John’s University, and multiple institutions within the University of California and California State University systems. Their consultancy has three phases: (1) understanding our current pain points and opportunities, (2) developing a strategic roadmap for improvement, and (3) supporting implementation, including the potential selection of new administrative systems.  While the project will be broad, we have asked Mary Beth and Phil to pay particular attention to significant challenges including the network, the capabilities of Banner to meet our business process improvement objectives, readiness to support academic technologies, and some of the operational challenges we face within IS.

The consultants have met with a cross-section of academic and administrative leaders to discuss the University’s priorities and challenges and will continue to meet, paying special attention to the following foundational questions:

• What are the most important priorities for your division or department?
• Where is University technology well positioned to support your priorities and where do gaps exist?
• How and in what areas should the University use technology in more innovative ways?
• Do you have access to the data and analytic tools your organization requires to measure outcomes and support decision-making?
• Does the University have an effective process for identifying technology investment opportunities and allocating resources to their best use?
• Are basic technology services efficient and reliable?  How could foundational services be improved?
• How can Information Systems partner more effectively with your organization?

Thanks, in advance, for your participation in this critical process.

Best regards, Rogan Kersh, Provost, Hof Milam, Executive Vice President, and Mur Muchane, Chief Information Officer