The School of Information Studies (iSchool) hosted the Upstate CIO Conference on April 16 in Hinds Hall. The conference brought together information leaders in Central New York to network, learn about social media and IT governance, and share insights about the iSchool curriculum and skills CIOs think are needed by graduates to succeed in the global business environment.
The invitation-only conference attracted 30 information experts from a range of industries, including health, finance and banking, insurance, communications, legal, government, and education.
“We hope this will be a bi-annual event that brings together information leaders in Central New York to network, share insights about our curriculum, and perhaps learn something new,” said conference co-organizer Scott Bernard, professor of practice and director of executive education at the iSchool. “We think that connecting CIOs with each other and with the iSchool can only result in new collaborations and innovations.”
Participants heard from keynote speaker Dan Mintz, former CIO of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mintz also served as a panelist to discuss the current trends in IT governance along with Scott Bernard, professor of practice and director of executive education at the iSchool, Thomas Uva, CIO for Sensis Corporation in Syracuse, Christopher Sedore, vice president for information technology and CIO of Syracuse University, and Arthur Thomas, a professor of practice and director of the iSchool’s Global Enterprise Technology (GET) program.
Thomas introduced a social media presentation by Anthony Rotolo, social media strategist and adjunct faculty member at the iSchool. During the final session, participants broke up into groups to discuss local issues for CIOs and how to help future CIOs. Sensis Corp. CIO Uva moderated the discussion.
“We expect this first Upstate CIO Conference to be invaluable as we set out to solve industry challenges, create industry trends, and educate professionals who can meet the needs of the 21st century global workplace,” Bernard said.
The daylong event ended with a reception for participants to mingle informally and follow up with presenters on issues that were important to them.