Athens, Ga. – Barbara A. White, chief information officer and associate provost at the University of Georgia, has announced her intention to step down from that position no later than Dec. 31.
A search and screening committee will be appointed in the next few weeks to begin theprocess of finding a successor, according to Jere Morehead, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, to whom White reports.
“During her tenure at UGA, Dr. White has been responsible for transformational changes in the area of information technology,” Morehead said. “Using her considerable administrative and interpersonal skills, she has successfully reshaped IT programs and services to better support the university’s research, teaching and service missions.”
Among her accomplishments, White provided strategic leadership for information security management, for deployment of an upgraded student portal (MyUGA), and in support of high performance and research computing. She also oversaw the transition to a new email platform and researched replacements for legacy Student/Financial Aid administrative systems.
White came to UGA in October 2004 from Utah State University where she served asvice president for information technology and CIO. Her background also includes appointments at the University of Idaho and Montana State University and service with the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
At both Utah State and the University of Georgia, she led efforts to bring information technology infrastructure, architecture and services operating throughout the residential and extended campuses into a unified and coordinated organizational structure using an industry-based enterprise model. She also emphasized long-term investment planning, as well as performance measurement and accountability in planning for and allocating information technology services and resources.
White’s efforts have garnered numerous accolades and awards.She was named a semi-finalist for the Southeast Region 2006 Woman in Technology Award, was named 2007 Southeast Region Quality Leadership Executive-of-the-Year, received the 2008 IBM SHARE Award for Excellence in Technology and was elected 2009 chair of the 35-member Administrative Committee on Information Technology for the University System of Georgia.
White continues to serve on governing boards such as the Atlanta CIO Executive Summit and to contribute professionally through national publications and presentations to groups such as EDUCAUSE and Campus Technology.At UGA she served on the 2010-2020 Strategic Planning committee, provost search committee, SACS Quality Enhancement Plan committee and SACS Compliance Certification committee. She and her staff have been integrally involved in plans for the new Health Sciences Campus and in plans for distance education access.
“I am grateful for the opportunity I have had at UGA, for my staff and their continued support, and for the collegiality and cooperation of the UGA community and students as we focus on the next generation of IT systems and applications critical to the university’s strategic priorities,” White said. “At this point, my family and that of my husband are in the West and I have a home there.It is time to transition to the next part of my life’s journey and provide opportunity for a new CIO to lead the next phase of planning and execution of information technology at the University of Georgia.”