J. Brice Bible, interim CIO and assistant vice president for IT at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, begins his new job at the Athens, Ohio-based university on April 16, according to an Wednesday. Bible replaces interim CIO Shawn Ostermann, for former CIO William Sams.
Sams resigned last July after the breaches were uncovered but stayed on until Ostermann was hired as interim CIO. Ostermann is an associate professor and chairman of the university's School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. He also served as a member of the national search committee that hired Bible, according to the school.
"Brice stood out for his ability to think analytically, work with all stakeholders and understand organizational issues," Roderick J. McDavis, president of the university, said in a statement. "We wanted someone with a record of success who could create a strategic direction for IT that fits in with our mission..."
Bible, 45, will oversee an US$18 million budget and approximately 150 employees while leading the university's central IT group. That operation comprises computer, infrastructure and security policies, central e-mail, telephone, computer networking and administrative data services, according to the university.
"Obviously, some unfortunate events occurred in the spring" at Ohio University, Bible said Thursday in a telephone interview. "I look at it this way: We can turn that negative into a positive for the university. Steps taken after the events were right on target to strengthen security and confidence" of the school's students and faculty. "This was one of the best opportunities from an IT perspective in the whole country today. There are CIOs who would give anything to have their universities collectively talk about, openly discuss and debate what everyone wants from IT."
At the University of Tennessee, Bible has been responsible for all aspects of IT, including the implementation of a comprehensive IT security plan, strategic assessments of IT and a new system that consolidated e-mail and electronic calendars. He also fostered a partnership between University of Tennessee faculty and the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory that created a network for advanced research projects.
Ohio University fired the two IT staffers last August and began a complete overhaul of its central IT organization following five data security breaches last April, May and June -- including one that exposed personal information on 137,000 alumni that went undiscovered for more than a year. A similar incident on a system at the school's health center may have exposed Social Security numbers, dates of birth, patient IDs and clinical information on nearly 60,000 people connected to the school.
The two IT workers appealed their dismissal, but their firings were upheld last November by the school's provost. A grievance committee that reviewed the breaches recommended that the two fired IT workers be rehired and given apologies by the school, but their recommendation was rejected by the provost.
Before becoming interim CIO at the University of Tennessee, Bible served as assistant vice president for statewide services in the Office of Research and Information Technology. He has worked at the school for 12 years in the areas of IT, technology transfer and laser applications research and development. He is named as co-inventor on 10 U.S. patents in the laser technology field and has been involved in supporting the start-up of two companies based on those technologies, according to the university.