Interim Provost Rick Kreminski announced the decision in an email to faculty and staff.
Comments from the search committee and from campus feedback forms highlighted Matola’s extensive experience in information technology for higher education, his service orientation, technical knowledge, and his openness and approachability, Kreminski said.
Matola, CIO at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, has had ten years of experience in higher education and 20 years total high technology experience, according to his curriculum vitae.
Having worked in both higher education and for profits, Matola said he is very customer focused.
He will work to provide a better and more responsive service at CSU-Pueblo and bring the perception of IT into a more positive light, Matola said. He also wants to employ more student staff at the IT help desk, which will help students gain experience and skills for real world jobs.
At UW-Platteville, Matola has provided support for more than 8,000 students and near 500 faculty and staff since 2009. He also served at the University of Phoenix in San Jose, Calif., Alliant International University in San Diego, and at New College of Florida, according to his curriculum vitae.
Matola received a bachelor’s degree in German from University of Maryland in 1984. In 1991, he earned his associate’s degree in information management from the Community College of the Air Force and received his two master’s degrees, one in education from Chapman University and one in systems management from the College of Notre Dame.
“He is experienced in various operating systems and a wide variety of application systems,” Kreminski said.
The CIO serves as the principal administrator responsible for all information technology and related services that support teaching, student learning, research, administrative processes, outreach and public services, according to the position description on CSU-Pueblo’s human resources website.
The decision was made after Matola and the other final candidate John Blegen interviewed on campus two weeks ago. The two candidates respectively met with the president and provost, IT staff, the search committee, administration and professional staff, and held open forums with students and faculty.
The campus interviews went well and along with the campus feedback provided insight for President Lesley Di Mare and the provost in making the decision, said Jennifer Mullen, chief of staff to the president.
“We were looking for candidates who had experience leading information technology divisions in institutions similar to ours,” said Rhonda Gonzales, chair of the search and screen committee and dean of the university library.
“The new CIO will need to work with the president and the new vice presidents to ensure that IT is well positioned to support the campus in its new strategic plan,” she said.
He will also lead the IT department in strengthening our current network and storage infrastructure as well as supporting teaching and learning in a rapidly changing IT environment, Gonzales said.
Jennifer Torres, interim CIO, will continue serving until Matola takes his office in October. She has started since the retirement of former CIO David Niccoli in May, 2011.
