Pitt Announces New Chief Information Officer

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher has named Mark D. Henderson to serve as chief information officer and vice chancellor. He will start in this position in early June. 

During his five years as chief information officer at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Henderson created and leveraged technologies to fulfill the university’s strategic plan, implemented efficiency initiatives and partnered IT staff with faculty members to improve support and also win research grants from government-based and private grant institutions.

As Pitt’s chief information officer, Henderson will bring his 30 years of experience in higher education and private sector information technology to advance the academic, business and research missions across Pitt’s five campuses.

“This is a demanding role, and Mark is a perfect match,” Chancellor Gallagher said. “He has an exceptional record of partnering with institutional stakeholders to push the innovation envelope and move ideas into action. I look forward to his arrival and the opportunity to support his success at the University of Pittsburgh.”

As CIO, Henderson will oversee an office that includes nearly 250 full-time positions and 150 student positions that manage Pitt's network infrastructure, 24/7 operations center and data warehouse that enables administrators to access a consistent set of key data points for strategic assessment and planning, among other functions and services. His leadership duties will also include overseeing the University’s Computing Services and Systems Development(CSSD).

“I want to thank Chancellor Gallagher for the opportunity to help further Pitt’s mission as a top research and educational institution,” Henderson said. “I’m looking forward to building upon the hard work of the CSSD staff to strengthen the IT structure and services to best fulfill the teaching, research and service endeavors of Pitt’s students, faculty and staff.”

Prior to arriving at the University of Illinois, Henderson was the interim vice president and chief information officer for information technology services at Case Western Reserve University. His other roles in higher education include serving as the interim vice president and chief information officer at the University of Maryland and the director of infrastructure services at the University of Cincinnati.

Private sector appointments include GE — where he worked as a leader in Global Shops IT Operations and Global Network Operations — as well as the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Proctor & Gamble.

Henderson succeeds Jinx Walton, who retired in February after more than 40 years with Pitt.