CIO Leadership Team
John M. Rathje
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Education:
M.S., Computer Science, Central Michigan University
B.S., Physics, Central Michigan University
Responsibilities:
The Vice President of Information Technology and CIO provides leadership for all institutional information technology endeavors, and oversees both strategic planning and operational service activities for educational, research, administrative and information security infrastructure efforts. He is responsible for leading the university’s information technology in support of the vision and priorities set by Kent State’s six-year plan, A Strategic Roadmap to a Distinctive Kent State.
He reports directly to the senior vice president for finance and administration, and serves on the President’s Cabinet.
Contact Information: CIO@kent.edu, (330) 672-4704
Direct Reports
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Michel Nahas
Michel Nahas, Chief Data OfficerData Management and Analytics
Education:
Master of International Management, Thunderbird School of Global Management
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
Responsibilities:Provides leadership for the governance, integration and reporting of all university data. The department is tasked with building a framework to enable the use of data to help make informed decisions and will work with Mary Parker, the VP of Enrollment Management to assist with the use of data to increase enrollment.
Contact Information: mnahas2@kent.edu, (330) 672-8820 -
Sameer Jaleel
Sameer Jaleel, Associate CIOSystems Development and Innovations
Education:
BBA, Information Systems, Kent State University
MS, Information Architecture and Knowledge Management, Kent State UniversityResponsibilities:
Provides leadership for design, development, and testing new and innovative software applications that are used extensively by the Kent State community.
Contact Information: sjaleel1@kent.edu, (330) 672-1388
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James Raber
James Raber, ASSOCIATE cioSupport, Infrastructure, Research Technology and Security
Education:
B.S., Computer Science, Kent State University
M.Ed., Instructional Technology, Kent State University
Ph.D., Educational Psychology, Kent State UniversityResponsibilities:
Provides leadership for the Network and Infrastructure teams, Classroom Technology, Federated Desktop Support, Help Desk, Training and Outreach, Research Technology, and other related initiatives. The overarching goal of the department is to deliver an exceptional customer experience in regard to technical support and service requests.
Contact Information: jaraber@kent.edu, (330) 672-1927
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Holly Slocum
Holly Slocum, Executive Director Organizational Effectiveness
Education:
B.S., Business Administration, Management Information Systems, Kent State UniversityM.S., Master of Liberal Studies, Leadership in the Nontechnical Aspects of Information Technology
Responsibilities:
Organizational Effectiveness includes managing human resources for the division, organizational staff development and facilities.
This group also includes the Process Evaluation and Improvement team which focuses on process improvement and process automation. Our team of Business Systems Analysts are skilled in facilitating process analysis and problem solving activities to help departments streamline processes. This group also oversees the Lean Kent State Office which offers Lean training and hosts the Lean Community of Practice. This team also includes an Application Support Analyst who is well versed in tools for collaboration and automation to help departments realize efficiencies in their everyday work.
Contact information: hslocum@kent.edu, (330) 672-3708