From NASA to Academe: Serving the Mission as CIO

“Whether it’s at NASA or a university system level job, a CIO wants to be able to expand the scope of our technology and systems to impact the largest number of people.” In this month’s Top of Mind Podcast, host Elizabeth Farrell is joined by the Vice President of Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer at Washington State University, Dr. Sasi Pillay, to discuss how he views the role of a CIO. Starting at NASA, Dr. Pillay moved to higher education because working with young students was exciting and it allowed him to continue to work in a learning environment. According to Dr. Pillay, he has found more similarities than differences between higher education and science, especially when it comes to IT. The most critical one is keeping the constituents’ needs at the forefront. Listen in as Dr. Pillay explains his strategy of enhancing the student experience via administrative system deployments and degree planning programming that’s accessible to both current students and alum.

Highlights include:

• Are there cultural differences between working in institutions versus a federal agency?
• Why is self-service more crucial than ever right now in higher education?
• What are the three tenants that guide you as a CIO?