A Conversation with the CIO of MIT

A Conversation with the CIO of MIT
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John Letchford is the CIO at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, known globally as MIT. Obviously, he is working in a very technologically advanced and progressive environment, and that fact dictates how he manages things. He has the mindset that everything they build, from a technology standpoint, is going to be obsolete tomorrow, and he must be continually ready for great new ideas.

To help foster that kind of creativity, he has to tread a fine line between promoting structure and promoting free-for-all creativity. As he puts it, “If you have too much structure, you can inhibit innovation, and if you have too little structure, you can inhibit innovation.”

He also has to be mindful of the fact that, when it comes to introducing new technology, he is dealing with two sets of people: 1.) Students who are digital natives and crave a rapid pace of change over the short time they are going to spend at MIT, and 2.) Faculty and staff who are in it for the long haul. This dynamic requires John and his team to keep open lines of communication with all the constituent groups to make sure everyone can achieve maximum productivity.

About John Letchford:

John Letchford is currently the CIO for the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Prior to that John had a one year appointment at Tufts University, assisting the University CIO with the transition towards an integrated IT operating and shared services delivery model as part of a larger university-wide effort to transform administrative processes and practices.

Before moving into Higher Education, John was CIO at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As CIO, John set strategic direction and led IT programs across executive government. In this role he served as the chair of the state’s IT governing body, the CIO Cabinet, and also served as a member of the State 911 Commission, Governor’s Health IT Council, and on the board of the Mass Broadband Institute. John was a director on the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) Executive Committee and in 2013 was named as one of Government Technology’s 2013 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers in Public-Sector Innovation nationwide.

Prior to becoming State CIO, John was Deputy CIO, with overall responsibility for day to day service operations of the Information Technology Division and for overseeing the state’s information technology infrastructure consolidation program.

John was born in the UK and holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Exeter, and a master’s degree in information processing from the University of York.

Further Reading:

Additional Reading:

Equity in education supported by progressive school leadership

Project based learning improving kindergarten learning

A passion for collaborative learning and student growth

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.

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