Elliott Cheu to serve as Interim Chief Information Officer
Dear colleagues,
Following Barry Brummund’s announcement of his intention to retire from the position of Chief Information Officer, I am pleased to share with you that Dr. Elliott Cheu has accepted an interim appointment leading UITS, beginning January 6. Barry will support Dr. Cheu with this transition until his retirement date of January 17.
As a University Distinguished Professor of Physics, Dr. Cheu is an accomplished scientist and educator, in addition to his well-earned reputation as an exemplary university colleague who has served in multiple interim leadership positions, most recently as Interim Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation. I have asked him to review the division’s work on campus, its relationships with other units to understand the needs, opportunities, and constraints for the university community, and provide advice to me and the rest of the leadership team. This includes areas of high interest such as high-performance computing, modernization of financial and HR systems, and remaining centralization and coordination needs.
Dr. Cheu’s knowledge of our university research community, his dedication to student success, and his demonstrated capacity to identify and address issues and challenges give him the ideal preparation to do this important work. We are fortunate to have someone of his experience ready and willing to take on this critical leadership position.
As a flagship, land-grant research university, the U of A’s continuing success will depend on a strong, adaptive, and collaborative information technology division ready to partner with faculty, students, and staff. Elliott Cheu is the right person to help ensure we are on this trajectory as we begin a national search for a permanent CIO. Elliott will remain in the position until a permanent CIO is identified, and I look forward to working with him in this new role.
Elliott, thank you for your ongoing and exemplary service to the University of Arizona.
Sincerely,
Suresh