The State of Higher Education: A Roundtable Discussion with Regional CIOs

Anne Milkovich

Chief Information Officer, Nevada System of Higher Education

Dr. Anne Milkovich is the Chief Information Officer for the Nevada System of Higher Education. Anne has over 16 years of experience in higher education including CIO and related roles at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Montana State University. Prior to that, Anne spent 20 years in private sector IT fields and business consulting. Her education includes an MBA and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration, with research in the practice of academic program prioritization. Her IT experience is primarily in the business management aspects of IT: leadership and management; financial planning and investment management; contracts and acquisitions; and portfolio, program, and project management.

Bhavani Koneru

Chief Information Officer, Oakland University, Michigan

Bhavani has been serving as the Chief Information Officer for Oakland Univeristy since 2021 where she leads the University’s more than 100-member IT organization, which is responsible for providing a robust and secure computing environment, reliable infrastructure and viable enterprise applications. As CIO, Bhavani has worked to simplify, sustain, innovate and drive digital transformation with emphasis on addressing the top priorities of IT in Higher Education – information security, privacy, student centric learning and sustainable funding. Prior to joining Oakland University, Bahavani served as the Chief Information Officer at Ferris State University, and held numerous positions including Senior Director of Information Technology at Wayne State.

Steve Swartz

Chief Information Officer, Salem State University, Massachusetts

Michael Kaiser

Chief Information Security Officer, Towson University, Maryland

Mike Kaiser is the Chief Information Security Officer for Towson University. He joined Towson University in March 2018 and is responsible for the University’s Information Security and Privacy program. Mike has over 20 years of Information Technology and Security experience within multiple industries. He holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus in Cybersecurity Management and Policy, and he is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP). Prior to joining Towson University, Mike was the Senior IT Security Manager of Strategy and Risk Management at McCormick and Company in Hunt Valley, MD.

Brian Cohen — Moderator

Vice President, Center for Digital Education

Brian Cohen is the Vice President of the Center for Digital Government and Center Digital Education. Prior to joining the Center, Brian served for 30 years in IT leadership roles with the City of New York and most recently with the City University of New York (CUNY). As the Vice-Chancellor and University CIO at CUNY, Brian directed the Office of Computing and Information Services (CIS), developed, and managed the enterprise IT vision, strategy and day-to-day technology operations of the University. His areas of focus included academic and business systems, cloud strategies, IT policies and procedures, Cybersecurity, project management, IT resiliency and disaster recovery, and network and telecommunications.