New CIO has big plans for technology services at VCU

Katelyn Boone
Staff Writer

Alex Henson will help VCU keep pace with the ever-changing demands of technology in higher education as the new chief information officer of VCU’s Technology Services.

Henson accepted the position in January and moved to Richmond at the beginning of this month. He came to VCU from the University of Chicago, where he was chief operating officer and executive director for administration and operations for the Office of Information Technology Services.

Henson has his eyes set on two major projects to begin his tenure as CIO.

First, technology services is in the process of upgrading the power and cooling systems for the primary data center. More efficient cooling will allow technology services to support the growing technology and network demands of research and teaching.

Second, Henson and his team are partnering with the Provost’s Office “to provide additional support in the areas of strategic enrollment management and decision and planning support,” Henson said. This will enable the academic staff to better utilize data to support students.

“The technology infrastructure will need to continue to grow as VCU grows, not only in terms of new buildings, but in terms of demand for network and data storage infrastructure driven by research,” he said.  “Our applications, systems, and web infrastructure need continued maintenance and at times will need to grow to enable students to learn more effectively, and to enable faculty and staff to get the information they need to support teaching and research efforts.”

Henson’s position as CIO focuses on two main roles: operational head of technology services and coordination of services with different VCU departments. The operational portion of his role focuses on coordinating and supporting services such as blackboard support, classroom media support, web services, network infrastructure and Wi-Fi connectivity on campus.

“My specific job … is really collaborating,” Henson said. “I am out there talking to whoever needs to be talked to and working with whoever needs to be worked with … to make sure that the services we provide are high quality and that people feel like they are getting what they need.”

Henson not only collaborates with separate departments and schools, but steers VCU’s information technologies to match VCU’s Quest for Distinction. In the three weeks he has been at VCU, he has met with faculty, staff and students to gather feedback on his initiatives. Overall, he said he has been impressed with the amount of engagement that VCU members have presented.

“Students are engaged here in a way that I am not used to, to be honest,” he said. “I think you see more energy and input. In the surveys, you get really good response rates, people actually seem to care, they have good feedback. … It’s a different level of engagement, and that really excites me.”

Henson also wants to encourage students to continue to be be a part of the learning experience.

“(Information technology services) do read these surveys. If students take the time to give us the feedback, we will use it and look at what we can implement,” he said.

Henson said VCU presents a new opportunity with their collaborative efforts with Google.

In the next few weeks, information technology services will be adding additional Google Apps for Education functionality to student accounts, encouraging them to use Google Plus, Google Plus Circles and Google Hangouts and enabling easier collaboration between accounts within the university domain.