Askren selected as UNL's first Chief Information Officer

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman has announced the selection, after a national search, of Mark S. Askren as the new Chief Information Officer for UNL.

Askren has been assistant vice chancellor of administrative computing services at University of California, Irvine, since 2003. Prior to that, he was director of the computing services group (2001-2003). At UC-Irvine, Askren led the central organization that provides enterprise systems for the campus and its medical center, was responsible for campus information technology executive leadership, strategic planning and enterprise security, in partnership the Network and Academic Computing Services organization.

His previous positions were as assistant vice president, application development and data management, at the University of Illinois (2000-2001), director of applications support (1998-2000) and director of client support services, (1992-1997) all at Illinois; and assistant dean of the School of Medicine Information Technology at the University of California, San Diego (1989-1992). He has an MBA in business economics and public policy from Indiana University and a bachelor's in business from Florida State University.

The Chief Information Officer is a new senior member of the administration who works with all academic and administrative units of the institution. Askren will report to chancellor Perlman and sit on the chancellor's senior administrative team. He will work with other academic, research and administrative officers to lead overall information technology planning and facilitate the development of information technology standards and policies. Askren will be involved in campuswide planning processes and be responsible for aligning information technology efforts with institutional goals. He also will recommend governance processes and performance metrics to ensure that information technology investments deliver value in support of the campus mission.

Perlman said he and his administration have made a strong commitment to the use of information technology to enhance the scholarly mission of the university. Because information technology has become central to the effective functioning of colleges and universities, Perlman said he sought a position to provide continuing leadership in this area which is both visionary in anticipating tomorrow's needs as well as extremely knowledgeable and capable in meeting the needs of today.

Askren's charge will be to strategize, direct and coordinate technology projects, facilities and programs to meet the primary campus missions of instruction, research and outreach. He will also manage numerous direct reports across various information technology disciplines and lead an overall team of 145 personnel. These resources provide infrastructure and architecture to the campus, and partner with campus units in management of instructional technology, business applications development, data management, and computer and auxiliary operations and support.

Kent Hendrickson, who was associate vice chancellor of information services, died in an automobile accident Feb. 5, 2008. This new modified position replaces Hendrickson's.