Information Tecnology hires new CIO, VP to consolidate different IT units

By Jieya Wen     11/5/14 6:46am

 

Incoming Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Klara Jelinkova will officially come to position in the first week of January. 

The Rice University Task Force on Information Technology suggested the creation of the new position. 

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“Rice would benefit from having a person vested with sufficient responsibility and authority to influence the entire IT ecosystem and help set policies and priorities at the senior management level,” the Report on IT Principles, Governance & Organization said. “The university should formally create the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the university, reporting to either the President or Provost.”

According to Kevin Kirby, vice president for administration, the vice president for IT and CIO will serve as senior technology leader supporting the research, education and administrative functions. The CIO will consolidate the university’s academic and administrative IT units. 

“Reporting to President David Leebron and serving on the senior leadership team, the CIO will provide leadership on issues facing the university broadly and work with Rice’s academic and administrative units to achieve the desired results,” Kirby, chair of Rice University Task Force on Information Technology, said. 

Kirby said the CIO will also implement the governance and organizational changes according to the recommendation by Task Force on IT. 

“One of the core premises of the task force was not to add or reduce resources allocated to IT at Rice but rather to reallocate existing resources,” Kirby said. “This new position and the other recommendations are intended to make the current IT organizational structure more effective and efficient. [The CIO] will focus IT on supporting Rice’s strategy and core missions of research and education, while simultaneously improving the day-to-day operations and services.”

Jelinkova is currently the senior associate vice president and chief information technology officer at the University of Chicago. She was the assistant vice president of Shared Services and Infrastructure at Duke University prior to her position at the University of Chicago.

In an interview with Rice University News and Media, Jelinkova said she is excited to serve as VP and CIO of Rice’s IT department.

“I am delighted to be joining Rice University, where technology is playing an increasingly important role in all aspects of university life and has the potential to catalyze new ideas in both education and research,” Jelinkova said. “I look forward to working with the faculty, students and staff at Rice to articulate an innovative technology vision for Rice and make that vision a reality.”

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