Smeal College of Business

IT senior project director Ginger Breon retires from Penn State

After more than three decades of service to Penn State, Ginger Breon is retiring from Penn State.

Breon began working for the University in 1985, helping to aid, guide and eventually oversee numerous projects aimed at improving the student, faculty and alumni experience.

Over the past year, Breon served as senior project director for Penn State Information Technology’s implementation of Microsoft Office 365 and spearheaded the project’s change management. The Office 365 initiative is one of the largest, enterprise-wide, IT solutions achieved at Penn State that provides one email system with integrative collaborative applications for all students, faculty and staff. Breon also sat on the Advisory Council for Research Computing and Cyberinfrastructure, a group tasked with resolving difficult challenges facing research computing at the University, and served as the first chair and board member for the Information Technology Leadership Council.

From 2005 to 2017, Breon was assistant dean for administration and chief information officer for the Smeal College of Business where she led the development and construction of the $68 million business building project on time and under budget. She also co-founded Smeal’s Executive MBA Program, developed the Undergraduate Business Fundamentals Certificate, and led the college’s renewal of accreditation under newly adopted standards, distinguishing Smeal as one of the first business schools to achieve this recognition. 

Prior to this role, Breon worked for the Controller’s Office as senior program analyst on the development of the new financial system for the University and then financial officer for the business school.

Over her career, Breon was a founding member of the Technology in Business Schools Roundtable, a global organization that provides business school CIOs the opportunity to network, learn, share, and collaborate on technology innovations.  She received the Krueger Award presented by IT business school leaders across the country to recognize an individual’s impact and leadership in serving the Roundtable organization. 

In her new role, she will serve as chief information officer for the College of Engineering at the Ohio State University.

Last Updated October 17, 2019