Office of the Vice President

Colleagues,

We are pleased to present Empowering People: Indiana University's Strategic Plan for Information Technology 2009. This plan was developed over the past seven months in response to a charge from President McRobbie and endorsed by the Trustees on December 11, 2008. It is designed to sustain the progress of IU's 1998 IT Strategic Plan and to ensure that IU can pursue excellence in all areas of education and research that make use of IT.

As noted in the president's letter, the plan is timely in the difficult financial situation for the nation and the state. Our collective work presents a plan for IU to maximize both efficiency and enhanced research and education for the faculty, staff, and students of IU.

Over 140 members of the IU community participated in four taskforces and an overall University Information Technology Committee to develop this plan. Participants proposed ideas, identified directions, vetted early drafts and ideas, and sought input from their colleagues. The plan is divided into three major sections: sustaining the IT foundation we count on, making IT more human-centric, and addressing grand challenges -- areas where IU's existing leadership provides opportunity for unmatched excellence.

This plan also reflects input from the entire university community through a month of public comment, during which 85 presentations and forums were convened -- at least three on each campus. More than 150 email comments were submitted by members of the university community. This broad base of engagement across all campuses was invaluable and will continue to be helpful in during the multi-year work of implementation.

Please accept our gratitude and appreciation for your role in defining Indiana University's aspirations for empowering people across our university in their use and application of information technology. Your time and engagement in this important process have contributed immeasurably to making this a strategic plan for Indiana University.

Sincerely,

Bradley C. Wheeler,
Vice President for Information Technology & CIO

Frank Acito
Chair, University Information Technology Committee and Professor