Haverford College Names New Chief Information Officer
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Haverford College has named Megan Fitch as its new Chief Information Officer (CIO) and head of Instructional and Information Technology Services (IITS). In this role, which reports to the President, Fitch will be responsible for the strategic and managerial leadership of the enterprise-wide IT function. She will also be a member of the College's senior staff, a group that serves as the President's cabinet and oversees the administrative policies of the College.
“Megan brings a wealth of professional, technical, and administrative experience to the role of CIO, along with a keen appreciation of the aims and values of liberal arts education and technology's place within its overall mission,” says incoming President Kim Benston.“And while she has honed that familiarity with the liberal arts at a number of outstanding peer institutions, Megan's background also includes time at large research universities and various private sector organizations, which lends important seasoning and perspective to her vision for technology in our setting. We look forward to her building on the momentum generated by our IT leadership in recent years across a range of initiatives affecting both the curriculum and the operating systems of the College, many of which involve Tri-Co collaborations in which Megan will prove an effective partner.”
Fitch is currently CIO at Beloi​t College in Wisconsin, and has held IT and library roles at Kenyon College and the University of Las Vegas. She has also had a range of professional experiences outside of academia, centered on research about telecommunications and technology. She is a Grinnell alumna, and holds an M.A. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and a MILS from the University of Michigan.
“I am very drawn to the ways in which Haverford is thinking through what a liberal arts education is in the 21st century,” says Fitch.“The emphasis on community in behavior and decision-making, along with the consortial partnerships with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore, seem to bring out the best aspects of liberal arts education, as well as meaningful and important challenges.”
Fitch will join the Haverford community in the fall. A specific start date is still to be announced. In the meantime, Steve Fabiani and Spencer Golden will continue their interim CIO roles and work to ensure a smooth transition.
“I am very much looking forward to working with the IITS team and with campus partners to advance Haverford, as appropriate,” says Fitch,“by leveraging technology in service of the teaching, learning, and administrative work of the College and by ensuring we are providing the best education possible.”
-Rebecca Raber