James Hilton officially took office as the University's vice president and chief information officer July 1. He will be responsible for the policy and overall direction of technology on Grounds.
Hilton was selected by a search committee consisting of University faculty and staff members, according to J. Milton Adams, co-chair of the committee and vice provost for academic affairs.
"Hilton really understands the digital world technology, as it can enable teaching research and learning and he is really knowledgeable about intellectual property and copyright, which are big issues especially in the digital world," said Karin Wittenborg, co-chair of the committee and University librarian.
Prior to coming to the University, Hilton said he was a psychology professor at the University of Michigan until five years ago when he moved to the Michigan's provost office and soon thereafter was given the position of associate provost for academic information technology.
Hilton said during his years as a professor, he always tried to use technology to enhance his connection with his students, even if it was just making his e-mail address and website accessible.
"This eliminated the terror of office hours," he explained. "It forced [students] to ask better questions and forced me to answer them better."
When deciding who would be right for the position of chief information officer, Adams said he was immediately impressed by Hilton's anticipation of what the University should be thinking about and worrying about in terms of technology.
"We needed someone who was a very good leader and [Hilton] certainly showed those characteristics," Adams added.
ITC will be working under him, but a lot of the deans take care of the technology in their department, Hilton said.
He explained that it will be his job to collaborate with ITC and department deans to create a technological environment most beneficial to the members of the University community.
Hilton is not only looking forward to the collaborative efforts within the University, but also the global collaborations that he hopes to create in the future.
"[Hilton] will be helping us coordinate, facilitate and move forward in what we do in information technology," Adams said.
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