ROBERT P. HOWARD
TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE PROFILE
Cabinet-level CIO who offers nineteen years of progressive and entrepreneurial leadership within large, complex multicampus organizations with large but tightening budgets in research and masters universities. Keen understanding of the
importance of the transformative and disruptive nature of technology on teaching, scholarship, and research. Demonstrates
proven performance in reducing costs on commodity services to invest in activities that provide distinctive positioning for
the university and community. Experience in staff development to increase organizational capacity. Possesses expertise in
listening to the voice of the customer and involving diverse groups to ideate, execute, and implement strategies to transform
ideas and opportunities into realities for institutions and individuals. Experienced in both innovation and continuous
improvement and capitalizing on the rapid change of technology in the cultural context of higher educational, business, and
healthcare.
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES
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Building and Executing Vision
Balancing Stability with Innovation and
Transformation
Emotional Intelligence-based Leadership
Cost Reduction & Performance Improvement
Transparent Communication
Business Development and Opportunity Creation
Entrepreneurial and Accountable Leadership
Productivity Improvement with Bureaucracy
Elimination
Service-based Relationship Management
Successful Organization-Wide Change
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Utilizing Big Data for Business and Marketing
Team-Building and Staff Development across
Multiple Locations
Develop Organizational Sense and Respond
Capabilities
Organizational Planning & Strategic Sourcing
Resource Alignment for Competitive Advantage
Building Bridges to New Opportunities while
Respecting Time-Honored Traditions
Building Learning Organizations that Adapt to the
Changing Needs of Students, Faculty, and Staff
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
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Increased efficiency and service to existing students and reduced obstacles for enrolling new students by leveraging
technology to decrease labor-intensive and bureaucratic processes
Working with faculty to provide different instructional modalities to increase the success of traditional, nontraditional, minority, and military students.
Hosted/supported a managed VOIP shared service to a 5 institution consortium within the University System of GA
Re-architected wired/wireless network to increase service, simplify support, and reduce maintenance costs by 30%.
Won silver for 2013 NASPA Excellence Awards for eStudent Affairs: Engaging Non-Traditional & Online Students
in the Armstrong Experience through Technology & Innovative Co-Curricular Programs
Led two major faculty and student driven university-wide changes from Blackboard to Sakai (Miami) and Blackboard
to Desire2Learn (Armstrong), each with compressed timelines under 15 months and tight budgets
Sponsored and co-led university effort to increase the strategic use of IT by reducing complexity and cost
Co-founded the M-Learning Center at Miami University as a collaboration with Academic Affairs, IT, and industry
partners which served to improving educational outcomes not merely acquisition of technology and to develop digital
technology commercialization opportunities for faculty and students.
Served as change agent charged with conceptualizing, pitching, and implementing new technology and business
models such as aggregated purchasing, VOIP, Exchange/AD, mobile computing, server and desktop virtualization,
wireless networking, cloud services, SAAS, Sakai, and Kuali with multiple and diverse constituents which resulted in
$3.5M annual savings while increasing quality in the midst of university budget crisis and cuts
Directed and implemented successful shared services/processes without specific line authority over staff
Implemented models based on industry methodologies (e.g., ITIL, PMI, etc.) to achieve predictable quality at
predicable costs on a reliable timeframe while meeting client expectations—without overly bureaucratic processes
Developed governance bodies to allow timely, direct, and open communications with constituents to get the best
input to key decisions and resource allocations
Robert P. Howard
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CAREER PROGRESSION
ARMSTRONG STATE UNIVERSITY (1 CAMPUS, 1 LEARNING CENTER)
Chief Information Officer
Savannah, Georgia
2012-present
Institutional Strategic Direction, Leadership & Performance Management
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Conducted review and implementation of university strategic plan as a Presidential report and member of the cabinet
Collaborated with cabinet to create strategies to increase recruitment, retention, progression, and degree completion
Working with cabinet to create and execute Complete College Georgia plan to increase graduation rates in Georgia
Created service-oriented culture designed to achieve balance between quality and rapid deployment of services
Developed strategic plan for IT in support of university goals
Developed division-wide training plan to increase technical, internal consulting, and culture change competencies
Partnered with the Provost’s office and Student Affairs an initiative to provide e-learning strategy for traditional,
non-traditional, and military populations focused on providing excellent learning outcomes and increasing revenue
Assisted with university SACS accreditation process, especially in services, e-learning technology, and assessment
Transformed a reactive IT organization into a planning and collaborative partner focused on services and outcomes
Creating a service oriented culture that serves the university in fostering student success
Created mobile business intelligence dashboard for daily monitoring of key enrollment statistics to guide strategies
Chaired web/marketing taskforce to increase traditional and non-traditional yield with a specific focus on military
Developed IT organization’s sense and respond and foresight capabilities to ensure rapid changes in higher ed and
technology landscapes are leveraged by the university.
Developed normalized IT budget and lifecycle spending plan
Advanced university’s e-learning delivery by working with Academic Affairs and Marketing for 508 compliance and
Quality Matters review process to ensure quality and accessible learning modules and courses.
Renewed satellite campus technology infrastructure near major Army installation as a part of military outreach
Increased access to actionable, meaningful data at all levels of the organization while reducing reporting demand on
IT and institutional research staff
Developed ongoing training plans to create or increase competencies in areas that will increase competitive
advantage of Armstrong State University
Developed and tested Disaster Recovery/Continuity plan for mission critical services
Developed project management and lean six sigma competency within IT to deliver projects and develop services on
time, within budget, and within specifications
Innovation and Continuous Improvements
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Creating Design Thinking culture across university service areas to innovatively answer university challenges
Assisted creating healthcare informatics emphasis across academic units to meet future demand
Partnered with Health Sciences to integrate Anatomage table into curriculum to increase student access and transition
away from cadaver usage
Increased student access to campus technology and reduced lifecycle cost by implementing VDI
Assisted in transitioning successful cybercrime academic program to a broader cybersecurity focus
Decreased decision processing time by 400% for freshmen/transfers by using design thinking and lean methodologies
Increased service and reduced maintenance costs by 30% by transitioning network architecture from Cisco to Juniper
Removed obstacles from IT-centric thinking to allow students, faculty, and staff better access to services
Reduced internal costs and increased service to students by revitalizing Banner ERP and partnering with enrollment
services staff to increase functionality, streamline modifications and develop workflows
Simplified processes and reduced bureaucracy to balance cost and risk while allowing freedom to innovate
Implemented PCI audit process in cooperation with Finance and Business Services to ensure compliance with all
merchant activities across campus
Implemented principles of ITIL and SOA including Change, Incident, and Service Management across systems,
services, and development functions
Increased bandwidth on campus to support existing needs and prepare for e-learning strategy
Reduced campus frustration over multiple sign-ons by implementing portal with simplified sign-on
Decreased outages and stabilized services by applying principles of availability, reliability, and risk management
Virtualized data center and increased SAAS to increase service delivery while to reducing cost and physical space
Robert P. Howard
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Relationships and Communication
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Developed trust by maintaining transparency of operations, budget, and honesty in areas for operational
improvement—i.e., “no surprises”
Repaired trust from previous leadership and developed productive relationships and open communication with
faculty, staff, and students
Increased affinity with regional businesses by acting as a consultant across several economic development initiatives
Developed relationships within the University System of GA to assist with Armstrong’s strategic initiatives
Developed industry partnerships to guide academic programs, to influence campus strategies, and to fund initiatives
Developed community partners to help increase awareness and alignment of Armstrong’s programs and further the
economic success of the Savannah community
Implemented client relationship model to assist academic and administrative divisions in reaching their goals and
become a partner in planning for the future
Improved reporting to internal stakeholders and University System of GA constituency
Incorporated governance bodies & communication practices to create sustained alignment of IT with university goals
Performed open forums and surveys to foster transparency and create a feedback cycle for continuous improvement
Provided benchmarking data along with metrics to assess the effectiveness of services across academic and
administrative functions
Furthered relationships with Linnaeus University, Sweden, for healthcare informatics and nursing program exchange
and sustainability initiatives
MIAMI UNIVERSITY (3 CAMPUSES, 1 LEARNING CENTER, 1 EUROPEAN CENTER)
Assistant Vice President, Academic and Institutional Technology Support
Graduate faculty, Computer Science in School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Adjunct faculty, Armstrong Interactive Media Studies (AIMS)
Senior Director, Support Services and Campus Partnerships
Oxford, Ohio
2009-2012
2011-2012
2011-2014
2004-2009
Institutional Key Accomplishments and Responsibilities
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Created IT cost-recovery shared service unit that now handles most administrative office IT support
Organized non-reporting decentralized IT staff in defining roles between central & decentralized IT through
influence, persuasion, and accountability with IT staff and academic and administrative leadership
Saved ~$3.5M annually by consolidating negotiations and working with Purchasing office to develop strategic
relationships with vendors and suppliers to dramatically increase savings and avoid costs over several cost centers
including equipment purchase, software licensing, printing, and staff augmentation contracts
Exposed hidden economies embedded in processes and silo organizations and then worked to document costs and
opportunities for improvements through a lean methodology approach.
Developed service catalog and service level agreements based on ITIL principles for business and technical owners
Developed partnership with Academic Affairs, Office of Advancement of Research, and faculty members to create a
model for research computing infrastructure and support
Increased research computing support group’s faculty contact hours by 15% by setting group goals and coaching
management staff which helped increase external grant funding by 5.5% in one year
Led effort to understand the strategic direction of e-texts to reduce costs and increase accessibility under ADA
Piloted virtual desktops for decreased cost of ownership and support
Transformed IT organization from lagging to leading in innovation in technologies and current methodologies
Coached and mentored staff to ensure professional growth and to permeate culture of service & accountability and
focused on skill development through the IT career lifecycle
Coordinated leadership training for increasing trust, managing conflict, and developing emotional intelligence
Consulted with Fortune 50 company to develop data visualization/decision-making strategy for the top executives
Developed business intelligence application to analyze social media and quantify strategic university initiative impact
Outsourced student/alumni email to Google Apps for Edu to increase service, decrease cost, and increase
Advancement’s ability to connect with alumni
Furthered student success by partnering with Project SEARCH, which equips people with disabilities with the skills
needed for competitive employment
Utilized exceptional relationship management skills particularly in situations where agendas of different units
conflicted. Successfully created win-win resolutions and mediated issues to ensure seamless implementation
Robert P. Howard
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA (1 CAMPUS, MANY LEARNING CENTERS AND STATIONS)
Director, IT Partnerships, EITS
Director, CENTAUR lab, EITS (concurrent appointment)
Network Services Specialist IV; Information Analyst II, College of Education
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Athens, Georgia
2000-2004
2002-2004
1998-2000
Key Accomplishments and Responsibilities
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Saved institution over $1M annually in shared service model
Initiated and implemented cost-recovery IT insourcing unit and executed business plan for growing the center from
less than 5 staff to over 50 within 24 months for IT support, research computing support, application development,
security audits, and hosted web/file/print services
Grew same insourcing service from a local College of Education unit it to a campus-wide venture by pitching the
idea to the CIO and absorbing risk for transitioning and developing the service
Co-created the Research Computing Center as a partnership among the VP for Research, Provost, and CIO’s office
Managed and directed network and interoperability research test lab (CENTAUR) in grant-based partnership with
Spirent technology which was leveraged to aid in key infrastructure strategy and deployments and development of
research intellectual property for University of Georgia
Oversaw as many as 80 contracts at a time, recruiting and managing staff while serving as primary liaison
between central IT group and clients
Initiated and sustained consultative relationships with each department to ensure optimization of internal resources
and made recommendations on process improvement
Achieved tremendous growth, despite state budget cuts, for ability to successfully leverage internal IT team’s
expertise in meeting university-wide technology initiatives
HOWARD ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, INC.
Project and Facilities Manager
Savannah, Georgia
1992-1995
Key Accomplishments and Responsibilities
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Dropped out of school to run family business while father recovered from cancer
Determined project size and scope, created bids and negotiated contracts
Recruited, trained and managed contract and full-time managers and staff
Successfully completed projects on time and within budget
Coordinated infrastructure and logistics for availability of operations and datacenter for large government client
Oversaw projects from inception through completion, tracking quality of production
Collaborated with subcontractors, negotiated with vendors and served as key contact to clients
Robert P. Howard
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EDUCATION
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MAY 2015)
Health Services Administration
Georgia Southern University
MASTER OF SCIENCE
Executive Leadership and Organizational Change
Northern Kentucky University
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Cell Biology & Microbiology, minor Biochemistry
University of Georgia
ASSOCIATIONS
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EDUCAUSE
USG CIO Advisory Council (Strategy & Leadership
Development Committees)
Technology Association of Georgia (Savannah
Advisory Board)
Juniper Higher Education Advisory Council
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American Society for Quality
ISACA
ISSA (Board of Directors Cincinnati Chapter 2006)
The Leadership Board for CIOs
The Creative Coast
RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
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NACUBO Annual Meeting 2015 (accepted)
“Making it Easier to Be a Student at Your Institution Real Case Study”
Business Officer Magazine 2014
“Pattern Perfect Process”
“Making Changes on Multiple Fronts”
Educause National Conference 2014
“Breaking up is Hard to Do! Business Model
Disruptions and Vendor Relationships”
“Connecting Data and Ideas through Effective
Storytelling”
Ellucian Live 2014
“Revitalizing Enrollment Services: Making it Easier
2B an Armstrong Student”
SIGUCCS 2013
“Strategification, Synergizing Efficiencies, and
Meetingitis: What your bosses _really_ do”
“Breaking up is Hard to Do: Lessons in Change”
IT Financial Management Association 2013
“Planning for Disruptive Technologies”
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ISOM 2013
“Tomorrow’s Forecast is Cloudy with a Slight
Possibility of Scattered Security”
Educause National Conference 2012
“Square 1: A Prescription for Operational Excellence”
Educause Midwest 2012
“From Blackboard to Sakai in the Blink of an Eye”
“Playbook for Leaders in a Changing World”
International Conference on Software Engineering
2011 (Co-author)
“App Development in the Miami University Mobile
Learning Center”
OHECC 2011
“Playbook for Leaders in a Changing World”
Lilly Conference 2010 (Co-author)
“Investigating Mobile and Ubiquitous Learning”
Robert P. Howard
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TRAINING/CERTIFICATIONS
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Innovation Engineering
Lean Six Sigma: Green Belt (Black Belt in progress)
Design Thinking: Innovation and Service Design
Essentials of Strategic Enrollment Management
Chamber of Commerce: Leadership Savannah
Green*Zone: military to campus and classroom
Governance of Enterprise IT
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6 Sigma Leadership: Driving Organizational Change
Educause Leadership Institute
UGA Managerial Leadership Institute
Executive Media Training
SANS Security Essentials/CISSP 10 Domains
ITIL
Negotiations Practicum
TEACHING/SERVICE ACTIVITIES
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Educause Recognition Committee (2013-2016)
Savannah Economic Development Authority Business
Resource Ecosystem
Ocean Exchange Voting Delegate
Armstrong Community Relations Team
Armstrong Strategic Planning and Resource Council
IMS 390 “Marketing, Management and Motivation Using
Game Mechanics” (Spring ‘12)
Board of Directors, Cybersecurity Research Institute
(2012-2013)
Volunteer Firefighter, Southside Fire Department
IMS 390 “Innovation & Disruptive Thinking” (Spring ‘11)
CSE 690 “Sentiment Analysis for Business Intelligence
and Social Media Marketing ROI“ (Summer ‘11)
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IMS 440/540 “Consulting and Product Development”
Senior Capstone with external clients (2011-14)
o Fortune 50 Applied Behavioral Economics and
Game Mechanics to Reduce Attrition
o Fortune 50 Firm Mobile Business Intelligence
o Fortune 50 Firm Social Media Buzz Analysis
o Transitioned 100 year old craft magazine
publishing house to a digital business model with
respect to social content and protecting digital
property content
Center for Learning, Teaching, and University Assessment
advisory board (2009-2012)
Steering Committee, Miami M-Learning Center (2010-12)