2019 EDUCAUSE Awards

The EDUCAUSE Awards Program, under the guidance of the EDUCAUSE Recognition Committee, brings peer endorsement and distinction to professional accomplishments in higher education information technology.

The Leadership Award is the association's highest recognition and honors exemplary leaders whose work has had significant positive impact on advancing the theory and practice of information technology in higher education.

The Community Leadership Award recognizes members for their roles as community leaders and active volunteers in professional service to the broader higher education IT community.

The DEI Leadership Award acknowledges and celebrates exemplary leadership in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community with clear positive impacts as a result of these efforts.

The Rising Star Award spotlights rising higher education IT leaders whose records reflect ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession and increased levels of leadership and responsibility.

2019 EDUCAUSE Leadership Award

Linda Jorn: For pioneering leadership and effectiveness in the area of academic and instructional technologies; for fostering collaborative environments among faculty, technologists, students, and other stakeholders to encourage innovation in academic instruction; for advancing the study and implementation of technology-enhanced learning spaces through her publications and presentations for the broader community of academic technologists

The 2019 EDUCAUSE Leadership Award recognizes Linda Jorn, Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies and Director of Academic Technology, Division of Information Technology (DoIT), at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in recognition of her visionary contributions to academic and instructional technology, her extraordinary collaborative skills, her dedication to scholarship and community service, and her personalized approach to teaching and mentoring colleagues at all levels. Linda's thought leadership and exceptional strategic skills have helped to shape academic technology and instructional technologies as we know them today.

Linda has spent much of her career in increasingly significant leadership roles across two large and complex higher education institutions. She has been an innovator in academic technology since her days as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, where she served as half-time director of a team that established what would become the Digital Media Center—a crucial engine for instructional innovation at the University of Minnesota. Under her leadership, the Digital Media Center gained recognition as an essential partner within the Office of Information Technology for other offices, colleges, and campuses across the University of Minnesota system. She served as Director of the Digital Media Center for more than a decade. In 2006, she helped to bring the active learning classroom paradigm to the University of Minnesota. In 2010, Linda was named Director of Academic Technology Innovation, Office of Information Technology, at the University of Minnesota. Her work was pivotal in establishing the university as a global leader in innovative learning spaces.

In 2011, Linda assumed her current role at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Here she has created a scholarly, evidence-based culture around digital technology and has played a pivotal role in implementing and promoting the educationally instructive use of information technology and technology-enhanced learning spaces. She is adept at establishing partnerships with individual faculty members, academic department leaders, and other campus stakeholders to successfully implement and promote the use of information technology in academic instruction.

Linda's leadership and influence extend far beyond her university positions. She has dedicated herself to the broader international community of academic technologists. Linda has served or held membership in more than 40 academic technology committees/councils. As a part of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (now the Big Ten Academic Alliance), she has worked closely with colleagues to pursue interinstitutional collaborations.

She is the author or co-author of more than 30 publications and has given more than 120 presentations on topics including institutional collaboration, leadership, work/life balance, the next-generation learning environment, digital ecosystems, learning analytics, and the impact of technology on teaching and learning. She was the principal investigator or co-investigator on 19 grants worth millions of dollars.

Her contributions to EDUCAUSE includes serving on the EDUCAUSE Nominations Committee, the EDUCAUSE Senior Leadership Roundtable (SLR) Council, the EDUCAUSE Advisory Committee for Teaching and Learning, and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Advisory Board. She also has been an active member of the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC), serving as CIC Learning Technology chair-elect, chair, and chair emeritus. In addition, she has served on ten CIC and national conference and program planning committees. In 2017, Linda was one of only two Americans invited to be a faculty member for the Council of Australasian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT) Leadership Institute, an appointment she will hold through 2021.

Linda's impact on instructional technologies is profound and far-reaching. She is an insightful, uniquely gifted, and deeply modest leader who takes a personalized approach to coaching and mentoring at all levels. Linda Jorn personifies what it means to be a leader, visionary, innovator, scholar, and entrepreneur in higher education.

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2019 EDUCAUSE Community Leadership Award

Mark Askren: For exemplary and extensive leadership in the field of higher education information technology; for demonstrating vision, knowledge, and inclusiveness as an IT thought leader; for building relationships that promote professional growth, personal commitment, and teamwork throughout the IT profession

The 2019 EDUCAUSE Community Leadership Award recognizes Mark Askren, Senior Advisor to the President at the University of Nebraska, for his wide-ranging contributions to higher education. In nearly four decades of service to the profession, Mark has demonstrated the ability to envision and prepare for the future and has shown an unwavering commitment to help institutions and colleagues succeed.

In his early roles at the University of California campuses at Irvine and San Diego, and the University of Illinois, Mark's reputation in the IT community grew steadily. He held a series of leadership roles within the University of Illinois system, where he was credited with spearheading an extensive professional development program that transformed client service effectiveness. Mark's career then led him to return to the University of California, Irvine, as Director and later Assistant Vice Chancellor of Administrative Computing Services. He also served on the University of California IT Leadership Council, which determined strategic directions for all UC system-wide computing initiatives.

Advancing to the University of Nebraska in 2009, Mark provided critical leadership for information technology in his role as Vice Chancellor and CIO at the flagship Lincoln campus and then additionally as Vice President of Information Technology for the University of Nebraska system. During his tenure at Nebraska, Mark's leadership has been truly transformational, as he led the organization through its "OneIT" initiative, bringing four independent IT organizations into a single unified division while realizing significant cost savings for the institution. One colleague observed, "Mark is incredibly balanced in his leadership abilities. . . . His focus on the big picture brought stability to the organization, and his ability to create shared meaning is what allowed staff throughout our division to understand the vision and path forward."

Collaboration and collegiality are hallmarks of Mark's professional career. He continually nurtures cooperative initiatives within the system and looks for cross-institutional opportunities through his involvement with the Research University CIO Conclave (RUCC), the Unizin Consortium, and the Big Ten Academic Alliance. In his years on the Unizin board, Mark was instrumental in supporting the consortium and helping higher education identify opportunities in the ever-changing digital education landscape.

Mark has a passion for helping his colleagues to become experienced, confident leaders and more effective technology practitioners. He is an openhearted mentor and celebrates the success of others. He is also deeply committed to increasing diversity in the field of information technology through his support of the Women Advance IT leadership conference, a national event to promote progress in improving gender diversity and inclusion in the profession.

Mark's scholarly work in the area of IT leadership theory and practice establishes him as a thought leader at the national level. And his support of EDUCAUSE is evident through his numerous publications and presentations. In addition to serving on the EDUCAUSE Board, he has been an EDUCAUSE Leadership Institute faculty member and Leadership Advisor Chair for the Hawkins Leadership Roundtable. He chaired the Annual Program Committee in 2014 and was a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force, which provided foundational work in support of the association's strategic priority to promote DEI. Beyond his contributions to EDUCAUSE, he has served on the board of the Great Plains Regional Network and the Microsoft Higher Education Advisory Council, and he is an Internet2 Program Advisory Group Chair.

As a leader, Mark Askren brings together expansive thinking, foresight, humility, humor, and a collegial approach as he engages and inspires others in the higher education IT community.

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2019 EDUCAUSE DEI Leadership Award

Melissa Woo: For championing and expanding the diversity, equity, and inclusion conversation and shedding light on the challenges faced by marginalized or underrepresented groups; for cultivating a culture of honesty and trust among working groups; and for promoting and providing leadership opportunities and mentorship to underrepresented groups

The 2019 EDUCAUSE DEI Leadership Award is presented to Melissa Woo, Senior Vice President for Information Technology and Enterprise Chief Information Officer at Stony Brook University, for her inspirational leadership and actions that have improved diversity, equity, and inclusion across the higher education IT community.

Melissa's understanding of the importance of diversity for organizational success has been evident since the beginning of her higher education IT career. At the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Melissa organized a highly diverse team of faculty to help the institution achieve R1 status. At a time when diversity was perceived largely as a politically correct buzzword, the success of this team demonstrated the importance of diversity in creating strong teams that can move large initiatives forward.

At Stony Brook University, Melissa's goal is to even the proverbial playing field for all, not to tilt it in favor of any particular group. She provides everyone around her with the opportunity to succeed. To ensure equity among her direct reports, she uses inclusive language in position titles, descriptions, and recruitment postings, and she has established a system of equivalent pay for equivalent job roles. She was awarded a grant to create a diversity student internship within the Stony Brook Division of Information Technology. As a member of the Steering Committee for Women in STEM Leadership program at Stony Brook, Melissa serves as a strong advocate for improved DEI practices, resources, and tools and is an inspirational mentor for colleagues who are seeking to contribute to DEI initiatives.

As a member of the EDUCAUSE community, Melissa leads DEI efforts through panel discussions, presentations, videos, and EDUCAUSE Review articles. She is the recipient of the EDUCAUSE 2012 Rising Star Award and is a Frye Leadership (now Leading Change) Institute Fellow. In 2017, she was selected to serve on an EDUCAUSE Expert Panel on DEI, which was tasked with addressing the complexity of the DEI landscape in higher education. The collective efforts of this group culminated in the creation of an EDUCAUSE DEI Task Force and CIO's Commitment on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Melissa was the ninth CIO to publicly affirm her support by signing the commitment.

In addition to her service within the EDUCAUSE community, Melissa is active in many other professional IT organizations and DEI advocacy groups. She has been a keynote speaker at the Women Advance IT leadership conference at the University of Nebraska and an invited speaker at the University System of Georgia Women in Technology Summit. She openly and honestly shares her personal views and insights about the DEI opportunities and challenges faced by marginalized and unrepresented people, creating a safe space for discussion among all groups. She also partnered with Florence Hudson at Internet2 and the National Science Foundation Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at Indiana University to create programs that expand opportunities and eliminate barriers for undergraduate and graduate students who are from underrepresented populations and are interested in computer science, data sciences, and technology.

Working tirelessly to elevate and illuminate the challenges faced by people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, professionals of all ages, women, and individuals with disabilities, Melissa Woo exemplifies and inspires action for success in DEI discussions and practices across the academy for the benefit of all.

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2019 EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award

Tina Pappas: For building a culture of communication, collaboration, and engagement among IT professionals and their workforce allies; for her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the IT workplace; for mentoring and empowering women in the IT profession; and for helping to provide IT professionals with the training, information, and resources they need to succeed in their careers

The 2019 EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award is presented to Tina Pappas, Associate Director of Innovation and Technology at Rutgers University–Newark, to recognize her steady advancement at Rutgers and her impact as an emerging leader and mentor at her institution and in the broader higher education IT community. Since joining Rutgers University in 2004 as Manager of the IT Helpdesk for the School of Communication and Information, she has taken on increasingly responsible roles. In 2009, she was promoted to Manager of IT Operations and soon after became the Assistant Director of Information Technology. Always advocating for the customer, Tina has a keen ability to enhance experiences through process optimization, which has led to her current campus-level position.

Throughout her tenure at Rutgers, Tina has dedicated herself to increasing collegiality, communication, and engagement among the nearly 1,200 IT staff members across the Rutgers University system. She integrated Slack into the greater Rutgers IT community, allowing central and distributed IT staff to communicate across departments and campuses, solve problems quickly, share resources, and connect with common interests. As the self-described chief culture officer (CCO) for the Rutgers University technology community, she regularly organizes informal gatherings, providing IT staff members with the opportunity to meet face-to-face and develop connections. Her unique ability to foster relationships has made her the nexus of the Rutgers IT community.

The impact of Tina's work extends beyond her informal activities through her leadership roles on the Rutgers University Senate, the CIO IT Leadership Council, and a number of enterprise service strategic committees. Through her participation in the Rutgers Leadership Academy, Tina spearheaded the development of an onboarding program for IT staff members at Rutgers. In an institution with hundreds of departments, campuses spanning three cities, and numerous satellite locations, Tina recognized that a disparity in the quality of onboarding processes for technologists was leaving some IT departments isolated. Her onboarding initiative—created in collaboration with central and distributed departments, faculty and staff subject matter experts, and human resources—promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and ensures that valuable information is accessible to all employees.

Tina has quickly become an active and influential leader within the EDUCAUSE community as well. She serves as chair of the Young Professionals Advisory Committee and as co-chair of the Young Professionals Community Group. As a member of the EDUCAUSE working group exploring the future higher education IT workforce, Tina participated alongside ten US and UK IT leaders to develop solutions and recommendations around issues such as effective recruitment/retention strategies and hiring practices as they relate to undergraduate and graduate education requirements and DEI. In addition, she has presented on effective communication techniques and women leading change at several EDUCAUSE conferences and events.

Tina is a passionate, tenacious advocate and ambassador with a natural ability to move groups forward in meaningful ways. She has established herself as a leader and role model in cultivating relationships and building a culture of inclusion for faculty, staff, and students, as well as for the broader EDUCAUSE community. Tina Pappas is laying a foundation that will have a profound and positive impact on the higher education community for years to come.

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