Kevin Lynch
Douglas A. Hicks, provost and dean of the faculty, announced the selection of Kevin Lynch as chief information officer (CIO) for Colgate University, effective January 7.
Lynch brings 15 years of experience in technology innovation, leadership, strategic planning, and fiscal management in the nonprofit and commercial sectors including higher education. He has served as CIO of Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., since April 2010. For nearly a decade prior to that, he served Clarkson’s Office of Technology as an employee of Collegis/Sungard (now Ellucian), first as a technical director, and, beginning in 2008, as CIO.
As full-time CIO at Clarkson, Lynch led the university’s information technology (IT) mission, vision, and strategy in support of teaching, learning, research, and university operations. After garnering institutional support, he streamlined university processes through an enterprise-wide document imaging and workflow system. He led the migration of the Clarkson admission office to a paperless system, worked with academic and administrative leaders to create an IT strategy plan focused on data-driven decision capabilities, and worked closely with human resources to create a comprehensive approach to digital literacy for faculty and staff. He leveraged a combination of private and state funding to create a green data center through the adaptive reuse of a historic university building.
“Kevin brings a set of experiences from Clarkson University — working with faculty on classroom technology and innovative pedagogies, providing infrastructure and analytics for various parts of the campus, and offering strategic thinking about IT’s role to support the overall educational mission — that position him well to lead Colgate’s IT enterprise,” said Hicks. “He has tremendous technical and interpersonal skills, and we look forward to welcoming him on campus and in Hamilton.”
Hicks also said that Lynch has been dedicated in offering his expertise to his local community, and he will thus be a great resource for the greater Hamilton area. He advocated for regional broadband infrastructure and strategic IT planning, and in 2011 he co-created the North Country Technology Symposium. He was a charter member of the St. Lawrence County Information Technology Advisory Board.
Lynch, who holds a BA degree from SUNY Oneonta and an MA from Webster University, served five years on active duty in the U.S Air Force as a communication and information officer, attaining the rank of captain. From 2000 to 2002, he was an assistant professor of aerospace studies and taught leadership and communication skills to ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) students at Clarkson University.
He has presented at many national and regional conferences, including Educause and the Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP), on topics including cyber ethics, process review, and using Blackboard to increase enrollment yields.
Lynch, who graduated with his wife Alycia from Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School and still has family in the area, looks forward to returning to central New York and to joining Colgate and the Hamilton community. He said, “First and foremost, I am extremely excited to work with a talented team of individuals who are so committed to the use of technology for teaching, learning, research, and global citizenship.”
Lynch will relocate from Norwood, N.Y., with his wife and their four children, Conor, Liam, Tessa, and Eamon.