In our next installment of interviews with higher education Chief Information Officers, I spoke with Dan Alig, CIO at the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Established in 1881 with a $100,000 donation from noted business tycoon Joseph Wharton, the school is not only the oldest business school in the U.S. but also one of the most respected, ranking at or near the top of all “best of” surveys year after year.
The average GMAT score of a Wharton student is 730, second only to Stanford, meaning that Dan has a lot of bright young minds to work with in his position as CIO. Alig addresses how lucky he feels to be at a school where students and faculty embrace a spirit of drive and innovation.
It's a freeing atmosphere that is open to all kinds of new ideas - allowing for the partnering of technology with learning at the highest level.
Interview
About Dan Alig:
Dan Alig, Chief Information Officer, leads Wharton Computing in delivering IT resources to faculty, students, staff and alumni and developing strategies to enhance the School’s mission with technology.
Alig began working at Wharton in 1999, supporting technology for the Graduate Division and has since moved through a variety of job functions with progressively increasing responsibility. Most recently he served as a Senior IT Director for Administrative Technology, where his teams oversaw the systems and services that helped run the business of the School.
A Los Angeles native, Alig moved to Philadelphia to study Computer Science at the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
Follow Dan Alig on Twitter
Further Reading:
Harvard Business Review - Why Higher Ed and Business Need to Work Together
University Business - Success-tech triumphs in higher ed
The Huffington Post - The Ever-Changing Role of the CIO in Higher Education
Additional Reading:
Leadership making a difference in global education
Venture capital interested in education funding
EdTech in higher ed helping with student assessment
About Rod Berger, PsyD.
Dr. Rod Berger is President and CEO of MindRocket Media Group. Berger is a global education media personality and strategic influencer featured in The Huffington Post, Scholastic, AmericanEdTV, edCircuit, EdTechReview India and Forbes
Audiences have enjoyed education interviews with the likes of Sir Ken Robinson, Arne Duncan, Randi Weingarten, Sal Khan along with leading edtech investors, award-winning educators, and state and federal education leaders. Berger’s latest project boasts a collaboration with AmericanEdTV and CBS’s Jack Ford.
Follow Dr. Rod Berger on Twitter