CIO Leadership Team

John M. RathjeJohn 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

Michel Nahas

Michel Nahas HeadshotMichel Nahas, Chief Data Officer

Data 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 JaleelSameer Jaleel, Interim Executive Director

Systems Development and Innovations

Education:
BBA, Information Systems, Kent State University
MS, Information Architecture and Knowledge Management, Kent State University

Responsibilities:

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

Barbara Boltz

Barbara boltz, Executive Director

Enterprise Application Management

Education:
B.S., Business Administration - Accounting, Kent State University
MBA, Business Administration, Kent State University

Responsibilities:

The Enterprise Application Management team supports enterprise software and applications that are used university-wide and are responsible for university business. Our customers are students, faculty, and staff at all campuses. The supported application portfolio is broad and includes many systems, with the Banner ERP, the University's Learning Management System, and CRM as major components. Also included in scope are Marketing Cloud and Electronic Signatures (DocuSign). In addition to supporting the applications, this team provides development services for Banner and the related bolt-on applications and third-parties, the Slate CRM, Blackboard, Canvas, Salesforce, and Document Imaging.

Contact Information: bboltz@kent.edu, (330) 672-1306

James Raber

James Raber, Interim Executive DirectorJames Raber, Executive Director

Support, 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 University

Responsibilities:

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

Holly Slocum

Holly Slocum, Senior Director 

Process Evaluation and Improvement

Education:
B.S., Business Administration - Management Information Systems, Kent State University

Responsibilities:

The Process Evaluation and Improvement team 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. Our team of Application Support Analysts are well versed in tools for collaboration and automation to help departments realize efficiencies in their everyday work. PE&I is also responsible for division communications.

Contact information: hslocum@kent.edu, (330) 672-3708

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