About | Information Technology (2024)

Through information technology, we are committed to providing the highest quality technology resources to help enhance your experience at Penn State.

Service Status

Help Desk

Our Mission

IT serves the needs of Penn State’s students, faculty, and staff through responsive IT services and support, enabling infrastructure, effective administrative systems, and forward-looking innovation.

Our Behaviors

Our IT community strives to model these behaviors in all we do to support University operations.

Accountability

Learn from mistakes and continually improve; be reliable when committing to a task and hold others to the same standard

Adaptability

Make adjustments; try something different and seek new solutions

Collaboration

Work together; share ideas to achieve goals; work seamlessly across organizational boundaries 

Grit

Persevere when facing obstacles

Respect

Foster inclusivity; embrace the unique backgrounds and abilities of all students, faculty, and staff

Our Leadership

David Horton, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer, is accountable for the entire University IT organization.

David Horton

Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Penn State University

David Horton is Penn State’s vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer. He provides direct oversight of Penn State IT and leadership and vision for all of University IT. He also co-leads the IT Optimized Service Team workstream, a multi-year effort to transform IT at the University. Originally from western Pennsylvania, Horton has numerous technical certifications and actively participates on local, state and national advisory boards focused on technology and higher education.

View Bio

Our Senior Leadership Team

The Penn State IT Senior Leadership Team is responsible for Penn State IT. They focus on creating new initiatives, protecting University technology, collaborating with faculty and researchers, and cultivating operational excellence.

Ben Battaglia

Interim Senior Director
Office of the CIO

beb144@psu.edu

Mark Campbell

Associate Vice President
Infrastructure

mcc171@psu.edu

Kyle Crain

Acting Chief Information Security Officer
Information Security

kdc12@psu.edu

Tiffany Cunningham

Financial Officer
Strategic Partner

tac18@psu.edu

Dave Gindhart

Associate Vice President
Business Technology Solutions

dcg102@psu.edu

Jason Hughes

Associate Chief Information Officer, College of Medicine
College of Medicine Informatics and Technology

jahughes@psu.edu

Chris Lucas

Deputy CIO
Associate Vice President
Academic Technologies and Customer Experience

cll161@psu.edu

Krystal McMillen

IT Operations Manager and Executive Assistant to the VP for IT

kvs7@psu.edu

Shuchi Nalepa

Senior Director
Enterprise Services

shuchi@psu.edu

Michael Stedelin

Executive Director, Office of Research Information Systems
Office of the Senior Vice President for Research

mjs926@psu.edu

Kari Williamson

Director
Commonwealth Campus IT

kaw2104@psu.edu

Scott Wong

Human Resources
Strategic Partner

smw184@psu.edu

Our Units

Penn State IT is a group of engineers, support specialists, communicators, developers, educators, and more.

Academic Technologies & Customer Experience

Collaborates with faculty to enhance teaching and learning using cutting-edge technologies, provides enterprise-level services that support faculty and students, and administers enterprise end-user support services to the University community. Focuses on evolving and actively ensuring a high-quality user experience when interacting with Penn State IT.

Business Technology Solutions

Comprised of two primary portfolios: enterprise-level business systems (WorkLion and SIMBA) and applications that come from partner offices as part of the IT Optimized Service Team (IT OST).

Commonwealth Campus IT

To support and streamline University operations, partner IT offices from the Commonwealth Campuses are now part of Penn State IT. This transition will help optimize administrative workflows and revitalize the structure of our multi-campus IT community. For more information about this operational transformation, read Penn State moving to regional leadership model for Commonwealth Campuses.

Enterprise Services

Enables a secure digital workspace for the University community and powers applications through secure data exchange. Safeguards the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of University information and systems, keeping user experience and productivity at the forefront.

Executive Support

Serves as the primary executive support for the Vice President for IT and CIO and is responsible for executive-level communications. The team also works closely with the Deputy CIO, Senior Leadership Team, and University IT Leaders and manages the continuity of operations for IT events and initiatives across the University on behalf of the CIO.

Information Security

Designs secure IT solutions and delivers enterprise security and identity services using commercial and custom software. To learn more, visit Information Security.

Infrastructure

Provides a seamless and reliable IT Infrastructure that enables the University to accomplish its mission while taking advantage of the scale that can be achieved by providing these services centrally.

Office of the CIO

Oversees the administration, planning, and operations of Penn State IT. Responsible for analyzing our operations, presenting information related to budget, projects, and strategy, and recommending initiatives that will increase efficiency in our administration and operations of IT. Develop reward, recognition, and development programs for IT staff.

University IT Overview

Everyone in an IT unit is part of University IT (UIT). UIT stays connected through UIT Town Halls held several times each year and through messaging from the Vice President for IT/CIO.

Each IT unit is a member of one of five IT constituency groups: Administrative IT, Campus IT, College IT, Penn State IT, and Research IT. The senior IT manager or director from each unit participates in constituency group meetings, typically held monthly.

Current leaders of the five constituency groups are:

Administrative IT

Tom Weber

Campus IT

Kari Williamson
Permanent Leader

Lloyd Painter
Jim Serafin
Rotating co-chairs

College IT

Yu Tai Chung

Penn State IT

Brady Hess
Gretchen Paules

Research IT

Wayne Figurelle
Chris Lucas

Representatives from the constituency groups also participate in the IT Advisory Council (ITAC), which meets several times each semester. Some of them also attend the monthly University IT Senior Partnership Team meetings.

For questions, please reach out to the appropriate constituency group leader representing your IT unit.

University IT Senior Partnership Team

The University IT Senior Partnership Team brings together leaders from multiple IT constituency groups to provide a forum for two-way communication on challenges and opportunities across Penn State, to share information on upcoming IT changes, and to offer updated progress reporting related to the University IT Strategic Plan’s goals and objectives.

Yu Tai Chung

College IT
yxc165@psu.edu