John W. McGuthry has been named chief information officer (CIO) of the Division of Instructional & Information Technology (I&IT), President Michael Ortiz announced today. His appointment begins July 5.
As chief information officer at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, McGuthry has overseen numerous technology projects relating to process development, enterprise applications, IT support and telecommunications. He was previously the CIO at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Georgia.
“We could not have found a better fit for this position than John,” Ortiz says. His experience in higher education, coupled with an extensive background in the private sector, should provide our community a seamless leadership transition and a vision for the future.”
At Cal Poly Pomona, McGuthry will lead the Instructional & Information Technology (I&IT) Division in the planning and implementation of the university’s technology needs. The division houses seven departments, including I&IT support, web development, and information security. McGuthry will also help ensure the campus provides equal access to all faculty, staff and students with disabilities under the Accessible Technology Initiative.
“From the first day I stepped foot on campus, I sensed that Cal Poly Pomona would be a great opportunity for me and my family,” McGuthry says. “It’s clear that this community recognizes its responsibilities to students, but also values collegiality across campus. July 5 cannot come fast enough.”
Prior to working in academia, McGuthry provided technology consultation to a number of telecommunications, banking and pharmaceutical companies. As director of product management for BellSouth.net, he led the planning and execution of the company’s Business Internet services, which offered Internet access and web hosting services. Previous positions also include network and system administrator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, senior programmer at IBM and member of technical staff at the Mitre Corporation.
McGuthry holds a master’s degree from the College of Management at Georgia Tech, and he attended the University of Maryland, College Park, for his undergraduate education.
He will replace CIO Stephanie Doda, who announced in January that she would retire after 22 years at Cal Poly Pomona. During her tenure, Doda has supervised numerous projects, including the Y2K Readiness Project, the Human Resource and Finance PeopleSoft Project and the conversion of the Banner Student System to PeopleSoft.