update The University of Sydney has a new chief information officer, with incumbent Robert MacKinnon having passed on the reins to Bruce Meikle on 29 January this year.
The University of Sydney's then deputy vice-chancellor, Professor Ann Brewer, announced Meikle's appointment internally in late 2006, saying the executive had jumped ship from financial giant AMP to take the CIO position.
Meikle will report to the university's chief operating officer and deputy vice chancellor Bob Kotic. The executive has some 28 years experience in the IT industry, and has worked for other financial services and retail organisations.
Brewer said MacKinnon had been engaged by the university to conduct a strategic review of its student administration system, and had subsequently been asked to act in the CIO position for a one year term.
"With his contract anniversary approaching, Robert advised that he wanted to step down from his current role," wrote Brewer. "He intends to broaden his involvement in the business venture that he has been engaged in for several years with his colleagues, in which he has been operating as an IT researcher, author and consultant."
No firm date had at that time been set for MacKinnon's departure.
Some of MacKinnon's achievements highlighted by Brewer in the announcement included coordinating the development of a three-year plan for the student administration system and preparing a blueprint for ICT shared services.
The executive also strengthened ICT involvement in research and teaching areas, initiated changed designed to improve the quality of the ICT division's products and services, and raised levels of client focus and engagement.
The University of Sydney was the first university to be established in Australasia, back in 1850. It currently has around 45,000 students and almost 3,000 academic staff conducting teaching and research in a wide range of areas.
The Web site of the institution's ICT division lists a number of benefits to be expected from the university's 2005-2009 ICT strategy, including the creation of an integrated ICT services division where "the customer is central" and a single point of contact for helpdesk support and requests for new work and advice.
The university has also flagged the need to provide greater access to equitable, reliable and standards-based services, and focus resources on teaching, learning and research needs.
"A single university digital identity to support brand unification opportunities" is also under way, and the group is also planning to drive cost savings by removing duplicated functions, services and systems.
