New Information Services leader to join university from OHSU

The University of Oregon’s new information technology leader will bring a strong background, meeting the needs of a complex, high-tech organization to bear when she takes on the role beginning May 1.

Jessie Minton, chosen as the UO’s new chief information officer and head of Information Services, will also bring knowledge of higher education in Oregon, joining UO from Oregon Health & Science University, where she has served since 2011.

“This is a critical time for information services at the University of Oregon,” wrote Scott Coltrane, provost and senior vice president, in a memo to campus. “As we continue to make great progress on our strategic plan, we are looking at structure, business practices, customer support and many other important aspects of this backbone of our operations. Jessie’s background lends itself perfectly to aggressively continuing this work.”

In her role at OHSU, Minton led the development and implementation of a five-year infrastructure strategy, along with many institution-wide changes to information technology processes and practices.

“As a native Oregonian and a Duck, I see this as a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in the IT space with an organization I cherish,” Minton said. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to give back at this important moment for the university’s IS team.”

Minton graduated from the UO in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and earned a master’s degree in management and organizational leadership from Warner Pacific College. At OHSU she most recently served as director of business operations and technical support services.

Known for approaching projects with “a spirit of coordination and collaboration,” Minton implemented an encryption and network access control project for nearly 20,000 devices across research, health care and education units, designed and implemented a project management office for IT organization, and led performance improvement projects that reduced IT operating budgets by $2.1 million annually.

“As described in UO’s Strategic Framework, IT is critical to our collective success,” Coltrane wrote. “This framework continues to guide our IT strategic planning efforts and decisions, and I am thrilled that we will be able to match Jessie’s skillset to continuing to advance this initiative.”

Coltrane also used the announcement to thank Chris Krabiel, interim chief information officer, and Adriene Lim, dean of libraries and Philip H. Knight Chair, for providing “exceptional leadership throughout this time of transition.”

By Tobin Klinger, University Communications