Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we continue to acclimate to the fall semester, I wanted to take a moment to announce that after an extensive search led by trustees, cabinet members and the search firm Isaacson, Miller, Elizabeth Hess will be joining Bentley as our next chief information officer.
Liz brings nearly 30 years of experience in higher education and technology services, working in numerous technology leadership roles across Harvard University and Harvard Business School. Most recently, she was executive director of Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, where she was responsible for the management of research computing infrastructure, technical support and data science services to over 5,000 faculty and researchers.
As the interim chief information officer at HBS and in other roles throughout her career, Liz has worked to set and execute IT strategy, manage enterprise-wide technology implementations and deliver innovative user-centric services. She has led large teams responsible for infrastructure, products and support services for faculty, staff, students and alumni—experience that will serve her well as she leads Bentley’s ongoing commitment to exploring new technologies that serve our community. Liz earned her Master’s in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania.
Liz has a strong commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace in which colleagues from varied backgrounds and perspectives can thrive. I’m looking forward to her leading the Information Technology Division’s strategic initiatives for racial justice as the Cabinet continues its racial justice commitments across the university this year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology has played such an important role in the way we communicate, share ideas and support one another. I’d like to thank the entire IT division for their hard work over the past 19 months in keeping our systems running and constantly exploring new ways to support our community. And in particular, thank you to Sue Walsh for so ably leading the division for the past seven months as the university operated in almost entirely remote and hybrid modalities last spring, while simultaneously preparing for the widespread return of students, faculty and staff this fall. I have deeply appreciated Sue’s contributions to the Cabinet in my first three months at Bentley and I know that we are stronger, safer and more prepared thanks to her hard work.
Under Liz’s leadership, I know that our IT division will continue to ensure that our operations run smoothly, adopting new technologies and approaches for our entire community to stay connected and engaged. Please join me in welcoming Liz to Bentley. She will be joining us on campus on October 4 and is excited to get to work.
Most Sincerely,
President Chrite
