Samuel S. Conn

Taught online and hybrid course in Management Information Systems, Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, and Project Management.

Appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer by the NJEdge, Inc. Board of Trustees and New Jersey Presidents' Council to lead New Jersey’s Research and Education Network into its next generation of opportunity and service and grow capacity and capability in high-performance advanced optical fiber network infrastructure as well as technology solutions center functionality. As a 501(c)(3) statewide resource to education, government, and healthcare, NJEdge, Inc. was restructured organizationally and financially in the initial year of my administration to facilitate service to an increased number of verticals in the digital economy, enhance opportunities for business incubation and economic development, and ensure that New Jersey and the region are competitive and digitally transformed as a national leader in education, research, and innovation.

Led the construction and implementation of multi-year strategic plans for the organization, now positioned to complete with successful attainment of plan objectives. Oversight of an annual operating budget in excess of $25M and the advancement of multiple key lines of business that serve to provide essential broadband services across the region and connect nationally through strategic partnership with Internet2 and other research and education networks, NJEdge, Inc. has now evolved as a regional technology and innovation solutions center meeting the needs of members in higher education, K-12 education, healthcare, and local government entities.

Focused on positioning the organization and region as a national model of excellence for science, technology, and innovation, current work involves establishment of a public and private partnership to complete last mile dark fiber services and increase opportunities for economic development, digital inclusion, and support for technology transfer programs in new and different ways.

NJEdge, Inc. through leveraging its statewide advanced cyberinfrastructure, now provides critical professional services, thought leadership, and capacity and capability for digital transformation to advance New Jersey regionally and nationally as an innovation hub, academic stronghold, and research leader.

Selected as interim Executive Vice President to restructure and enhance the College's performance in the finance and administration division, as well as the integrated technology division. Key initiatives included strategic planning, revenue planning, zero-based budgeting, capital planning, and construction of an investment portfolio. Restructuring initiatives included the institutional budget model, procurement, real estate capital construction and facilities management, institutional security, and internal audit, control, and compliance. Initially recruited to the president's cabinet as Vice President of Integrated Technologies and Chief Information Officer to play a key role in the restructuring of the statewide institution, known as ESC 2.0. Working across the College, current responsibilities included an institution-wide initiative to model, re-engineer, and align business processes; design enterprise information systems architecture in support of the College's mission and vision; modernize and harden technology infrastructure and platforms; leverage relationships and resources within the SUNY system; and create new mechanisms to ensure sustainable growth as well as the College's long-term financial health. In my role as Vice President for Integrated Technologies and Chief Information Officer, I led the strategic (business and technology) vision for the College.

Initiatives involved new statewide and western Europe (campuses) service management strategies based on the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework using ServiceNow® as an implementation tool. Work also involved new construction and consolidation of data centers to increase efficiency, enhance security, and provision cloud-computing services. Strategic investment initiatives also included robust platforms for mobile computing, new enterprise information systems architecture involving constituent management relationship (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and robust business intelligence and predictive analytics capabilities. Key efficiency strategies included moving to the cloud, outsourcing and consolidation to lower technology operating costs while improving efficacy to leverage technology investment.

Appointed to serve as a senior member of the president's cabinet, my role functioned as the University's innovative, dynamic, and experienced Information Technology chief executive with strong strategic leadership and managerial responsibilities, and a vision to anticipate the evolutionary pathways of new technology and the imagination to identify new uses of information and technology. Responsibilities included leadership, coordination, management, and support for the University's strategic technology initiatives through the University Information Technology Services (UITS) division. In response to the University mission and vision, UITS worked to optimize technology resources to advance the University through four groups: Information Technology, Information Systems, Technical Support, and Campus Business Technologies. The Information Technology Group designed, constructed, and maintained the physical components of the University's wireline and wireless networks, data center operations, library, police security network, and cloud computing infrastructure. Working to achieve a reliable, available, scalable, and secure network infrastructure and hosting environment, this Group was also tasked with operational support for networked systems administration

The Information Systems Group supported and maintained enterprise and departmental level software applications through all phases of the system development life-cycle process. Working to advance the technology value proposition of data to information to knowledge, this Group was responsible for hardware and software project management, database system engineering and administration, and technology purchasing and logistics. Moreover, this Group provided Enterprise Information Management to the organization through Business Intelligence and Enterprise Content Management. The Technical Support Group built and maintained physical and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) learning spaces on campus, IP classrooms, and provided desktop support for all academic and administrative computing. The Campus Business Technologies Group worked to improve the efficiency of University academic and administrative business processes through business process reengineering and automation of workflows. This Group also served to support technology portfolio management, implement digital document management, support strategic planning through enterprise administration of strategic planning software, increase use of big data concepts, and support business intelligence platforms and tools

Also served on faculty with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, taught traditional classroom courses at the undergraduate level in information technology service management. Developed course curriculum and assessment strategies in concert with an experiential learning approach. Academic advising provided to students in relation to degree emphasis and planning, course selection and sequencing, and capstone courses.

Singapore, London, and Philadelphia

Served as Managing Director for Knowledge Strategies in the business of health care and life science. This multi-national consulting firm engaged with organizations to improve efficiency of operations, find sustainable ways to improve business performance, employ data-driven decision-making, and evolve strategies to increase business in a globally competitive environment. Moreover, the Avancer Group improved performance by strengthening the business of health care and life science. Consultants specifically help investigative life science organizations including biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device organizations as well as the providers of health care such as healthcare systems, hospitals, accountable care organizations, laboratories, and pharmacies.

Recruited to Georgia Military College and promoted to serve as the chief executive, strategist, and visionary for the institution's information technology organization composed of three departments: Institutional and Academic Computing; Network Services and Telecommunications; and Online Learning. As a member of the president's cabinet, led the development of strategy, implementation, and operations for the institution's technology infrastructure to ensure a robust enterprise-computing environment that supported the academic goals of the institution and the College's administrative services. Working in collaboration with executive and senior administrative staff members in all units of the institution, responsibilities included all aspects of Information Technology support for academic and administrative functions, including campus-wide data and voice-over-IP (VOIP) networks; enterprise software applications; server and networked personal computing environments; technology support for faculty teaching and online education; video telecommunications services; Service Desk; and cyber-security

Responsibilities also included planning and execution for the start-up of the College's Online Campus including: drafting prospectus and managing substantive change procedure with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); organizational planning and staffing; and all areas involving digital marketing, student recruitment, admissions, governance, services, instructional design, online instruction, financial aid, and graduation. This nascent initiative resulted in establishment of the College's Online Campus with surplus revenue growth of $1.3M in its first 14 months of operation.

Taught classroom and online courses in Computer Information Systems at the undergraduate and graduate level, including student advising and mentoring. Served on curriculum review committee, and mentored new faculty on learning management system use and online pedagogy. Worked to develop the Community of Inquiry model of instruction and strengthen instructional design through application of the Quality Matters rubric, an evolving standard at the time.

Kentucky State University Center for Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, Responsibilities included leadership and management of online and digital learning initiatives ensuring a holistic approach to eLearning through a collaborative cross-university approach. Work involved strategic collaboration with the University's colleges and academic departments to evaluate online program development, teaching and learning, and online assessment. Through information and communication technologies, work involved design, development and implementation of quality synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning experiences and leadership in the construction of new and scalable models of eLearning. Recommended online learning policies and procedures to University governance; resolved eLearning technical barriers and issues; prepared online program budgets and ensured effective operations; and developed a team-based and participatory work environment to accomplish organizational goals and objectives. Provided faculty development and support in the areas of digital literacy, online course instructional design, construction, and delivery. Evaluated online program efficacy to ensure continuous quality improvements. Served on faculty for the Department of Computer Engineering and Technology to teach and advise undergraduate students in the program and develop new and innovative pedagogical approaches to technical education.

A key strategic business unit at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), a Research 1 institution. The Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning was responsible for production, growth, and advancement of online learning and technology- infused distance education for over 30,000 students. Responsibilities included operations for eLearning Information Technology infrastructure, student information system, general ledger accounting system, instructional design and development, faculty development and support, and program and course research and assessment. Using a systems life-cycle approach, quality improvement initiatives were engaged at all levels of the operation to improve faculty and students' academic experience. Key responsibilities also included engagement in new eLearning initiatives across the University, support for existing online and interactive video-conferencing courses, Internet2 strategies, procurement, personnel, budgeting, accreditation, strategic planning and reporting, and interaction with other domestic and foreign key university strategic business units.

Joined Regis University as lead faculty for database technologies in the Computer Information Systems graduate program. Responsibilities included preparation and teaching of undergraduate and graduate courses in information systems data management and administration, network security, enterprise information architecture, business analytics, systems analysis and design, project management, and other related information systems courses. Additional faculty responsibilities included advising of majors and minors in Computer Information System programs, advising student projects, guided independent studies, graduate research, and internships.

Faculty duties also involved the re-design of courses, development of new courses, contributions to interdisciplinary minors, and the development of new programs. In collaboration with faculty colleagues, my role included scholarly activities related to the Information Systems field of study. This resulted in published refereed articles and academic conference presentations. I also served on various professional and department, college, and university committees and boards, as well as worked on sponsored programs. Moreover, faculty role involved engaging in professional and community service related to Information Systems.

Subsequently promoted to Computer Information Systems Department Chair, supervising curriculum and instruction, student advising, enrollments and registrations, and approximately 140 faculty members. Headed student retention planning, faculty recruitment, selection, mentoring, development, and evaluation. As Chief Technology Officer for the Oracle Virtual Labs, I provided vision and support for a globally accessible network of virtual learning environments in support of polytechnic curricula. Initiatives in online course design, development, and implementation resulted in rapid enrollment growth and expansion into European markets through a partnership with the National University of Ireland.

Contracted by East Coast Polytechnic Institute (ECPI) College of Technology Online Campus to manage daily technical and academic operations, curriculum design, development, and delivery; faculty recruitment, hiring, orientation, development, management, and evaluation; scheduling, student retention, quality improvement initiatives, and student academic experience. Responsible for curriculum development and managing delivery of online instruction in multiple discipline areas including business, technology, science, liberal arts, and health science.