Harvard University appoints Anne H. Margulies as Chief Information Officer

Harvard University announced today (July 12) the appointment of Anne H. Margulies as Chief Information Officer.

A senior manager with 30 years of strategic planning, information technology, and administrative leadership experience, Margulies is currently Assistant Secretary for Information Technology and CIO for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This will be her second stint at Harvard. She served as Assistant Provost and Executive Director for Information Systems from 1995 through 1998.

Margulies takes on a reconfigured CIO role that will provide leadership for applied technologies that support the University’s teaching and research mission, in addition to having direct oversight of the technology functions of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Working with senior academic and administrative leaders and with technology professionals across the institution, she will provide strategic leadership, technical planning, and organizational management of technology programs that focus on the University’s academic, administrative, and infrastructure technology needs.

“This is a critical piece of our effort to better organize and utilize University resources and create efficiencies across campus,” said Harvard Executive Vice President Katherine N. Lapp. “These two IT departments have developed separately over time, and it only makes sense to ensure that they are working in concert.”

Margulies will report to the Executive Vice President on most technology-related matters and to the FAS dean on matters related to the academic and research computing needs of FAS. She will also coordinate with the Office of the Provost on technology matters related to the University’s overall academic mission.

“As dean, I am committed to providing our faculty and students with the most effective support and compelling tools available,” said FAS Dean Michael D. Smith, the John H. Finley Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“Today, information technology is not only a backbone of our daily lives, but also a critical component of cutting-edge education, research, and administration,” he said. “I am excited by Anne’s return to Harvard, as she brings a wealth of experience and a demonstrated ability to apply technology and build organizations that will help bolster our mission of teaching and research.”

Margulies will assume her position in early September.

“No one doubts that information technology is playing an increasingly important role in education and research everywhere. From my discussions with many faculty and senior leaders across Harvard, it is clear that the University is ready to chart a new course for its own IT future,” Margulies said. “I am very excited about the opportunity to work with faculty, students, and staff to formulate an innovative vision for IT that is right for Harvard, and to make it a reality.”