How to be great at Developing and Implementing Strategies?

David Weil, Vice President for Information Technology and Analytics, and Chief Information and Analytics Officer at Ithaca College

David Weil, Vice President for Information Technology and Analytics, and Chief Information and Analytics Officer at Ithaca College

David Weil is the Vice President for Information Technology and Analytics and Chief Information and Analytics Officer at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York where he leads a team of IT and Analytics professionals and students to provide comprehensive IT and analytics services and strategic leadership for the campus community. David also has worked closely with EDUCAUSE to help develop and teach in-person and on-line leadership development programs and contributes regularly to conversations about leadership, the role of IT in higher education, digital transformation (Dx), and ways IT can serve as a catalyst for advancing the mission of our institutions. David is an accomplished conference presenter, institute faculty member, and contributor to publications on topics related to leadership and IT in higher education.

Weil leads a team of 62 IT and Analytics professionals and 80student employees who are dedicated to supporting and enhancing the educational and work experiences for the college’s students, faculty, and staff. As a member of the President’s cabinet, Weil helps provide strategic direction for the overall institution.

In his daily work Weil wears many hats. First and foremost he is a leader who listens to and communicates with others to understand their needs, ideas, concerns, and problems that need solving. Weil believes leadership matters, and that effective leadership involves connecting with people’s head and heart to develop a shared vision, align people and resources to achieve common goals, and to reduce barriers to success.

Following is the conversation we had with Dave Weil.

As the Chief Information and Analytics Officer, what are some of your key roles and responsibilities that you have on a daily basis?

An important aspect of my job is developing and implementing strategies. This involves working through complex issues, talking with others across the institution, surveying the landscape within and outside of the college, and formulating strategies to move forward. I collaborate with my leadership team, students and colleagues, and vendor partners on implementing new technologies and approaches to support the college's mission.

As a cabinet member, I work with other member of the senior administration on addressing broad issues facing the college, advising the president, and representing the administration in various meetings and activities. I also co-chair the college’s Core Emergency Response Team (CERT), helping to coordinate college-wide responses to emergency situations across the institution.

In addition to my work within Ithaca College I spend time working with the EDUCAUSE association for higher education IT, helping to develop and lead professional leadership development programs and thinking through strategies related to advancing the field of IT in higher education.

What is the overall technology strategy at Ithaca College, and how do you ensure that it aligns with the academic and research goals of the institution?

At Ithaca College, students are our "why", and that drives our approach to our IT services. We’ve invested significant energy and resources to ensure that our services are reliable and help students, faculty and staff achieve their goals.

We are constantly working to advance our technology stack to apply new technologies and approaches as they reach their mainstream maturity. We continually survey the technology landscape and track new technology developments and techniques, assessing what is on the horizon that will help us evolve our environment to enhance the student experience, increase efficiencies, security and reliability, and better position us for the future.

“We are constantly working to advance our technology stack to apply new technologies and approaches as they reach their mainstream maturity.”

Over the past 8 years we have made significant investments in our entire technology infrastructure, replacing our entire network, upgrading or replacing most of our major applications, including our Learning Management System, ERP, HCM, Advancement Management, CRM, Housing, and other key systems. We’re investing in our data and analytics infrastructure to help the institution better use data to make operational and strategic decisions and continue to enhance our security controls and technologies. And we did all this with a smaller staff than we had 10 years ago. These investments allowed us to make the “great pivot” to fully remote instruction and operations during the pandemic with minimal additional investment, and we continue to leverage them to improve the experience for our community.

How do you see technology and innovation impacting the future of higher education, and what role do you see Ithaca College playing in this space?

I believe there is an increasing gap between the service experiences that students have outside of higher education and the ones that many of our institutions are providing. At times we are not meeting students where they are at in terms of their use of technology and expectations for how we use data to help them through their education journey.

For example I recently returned from a trip on an airline that I had never traveled on before. What struck me was that every employee I encountered had a mobile device that they used to do everything, from checking me in, to scanning my bag, providing me with gate and other airport information, and charging me for my snack box. I could approach anyone I saw from the airline, and they could help me and had access to relevant information about me. I also received a steady stream of pushed messages appropriate to my needs at that moment.

In higher education we still don’t do a good job with giving people the tools to provide that level of seamless engagement and experiences. We’re getting better, but at many of our institutions there’s still too much “friction” that students encounter in requesting and receiving services. We don’t consistently leverage information we know about them or their progress in order to provide them with relevant information when they need it in ways that they want to receive it. To be clear, I’m not advocating that we do away with the highly personal interactions that many of our institutions are built on, but rather that we can do better, and continue to leverage advancements in technology to enhance and improve the experiences that our students have on our campuses – whether it’s in the classroom, connecting with others, providing relevant guidance about their educational journey, or requesting services from the institution.

At Ithaca College we are exploring these questions and are working with some of our key vendor partners to start to envision what the student expectations and experiences of 2030 could look like at a mid-size comprehensive residential institution such as IC and how to better meet students where they are at.

How do you collaborate with other university leaders and stakeholders to advance technology initiatives and projects, and how do you prioritize these efforts?

Leadership is about personal connections and collaborations. I’m constantly in touch with leaders and others across the institution in both formal and informal settings. In July 2021 the CIO position was elevated to the cabinet level which is extremely helpful to more fully understand needs throughout the college and provide valuable collaborations across the institution.

IT is one of the few service areas that interacts with and touches every aspect of the institution. As CIO I’m in a position to hear about challenges and initiatives throughout the college and help make connections and develop strategies to address their needs. This also helps others gain understanding of what we’re doing in IT and build confidence and consensus around the IT initiatives we’re working to advance on their behalf.

We’ve also worked hard to always wear the “big hat”, be a true institutional partner and demonstrate prudent management of the fiscal resources we have been entrusted with. This helps build trust that we are making sound financial and strategic decisions that are in the best interest of the entire institution, and that we are good stewards of the fiscal resources we’re provided.

What would be your piece of advice for your fellow peers and leaders?

As successful CIO’s know this role is about leadership, not just technology. It’s about helping others be the best they can be, working to understand the needs and challenges people are facing and how our services can help them, crafting vision and strategy and then leading to achieve those goals. Technology forms the toolsets we work with to solve problems, advance strategic goals, and improve operations – but the work we do is all about providing leadership.

So my advice is to continually be thinking about leadership, and honing our skills and approaches for how as leaders we can help inspire, motivate, remove barriers, build coalitions, and align resources to make a difference. Leadership matters.