UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Despite more than a decade of service to Penn State, Adam Caimi still sometimes marvels at the University’s size and reach.
It’s one of the main reasons that the former executive director of information technology (IT) for Outreach and Online Education is looking forward to overseeing one of the largest information technology transformations in the history of higher education.
Adam Caimi Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons
Caimi was named executive director for reimagining IT (RIT) in mid-April and has since been busy meeting with stakeholders of the multi-phase initiative that aims to harness and direct IT solutions to better support the University’s teaching, research and service missions.
“It’s an opportunity to impact change at such a big place,” Caimi said. “We have so much potential here at Penn State and need to be good stewards for how we’re using our resources; optimizing our investments in technologies and services; making sure we’re limiting redundancies where we can; and creating capacity to support innovation and research.”
As executive director, Caimi will be responsible for working with stakeholders from across the University to create a shared vision for the initiative and will ensure execution of all RIT-related activities.
He will also be responsible for keeping all constituent communities informed about RIT news and developments. Caimi will serve on the Penn State IT Senior Leadership Team.
"As executive director, Adam will have his finger on the pulse of every facet of RIT," said Penn State Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Michael Kubit. "He has extensive knowledge of the opportunities afforded by this initiative to align resources, optimize investments and create capacity to support innovation. We are very excited to have his thought leadership and oversight into what will ultimately improve information technology for all stakeholders across the University."
Caimi, who started at Penn State in 2007, has already had a hand in developments that have made IT at Penn State stronger.
“The growth of the World Campus has been incredible over the time I have been here and we have been working with a great deal of urgency to transform IT in Outreach and Online Education over the last few years,” Caimi said. “While doing so, we were able to contribute insights to the broader IT community based on advancements we were able to make at the edge.”
As far as the task at hand, Caimi said he sees the Penn State IT community wanting to work together more.
“Given the closeness that the IT community has developed over time because of the former IT Leadership Council and the yearly TechPros event, for instance, there is a strong appetite from the community to work collaboratively,” Caimi said. “RIT is really just going to be an extension of that momentum.”
Prior to joining Penn State, Caimi worked for Booz Allen Hamilton as a strategic consultant, working with the Department of Defense in the Washington, D.C. area.