Indian-American appointed UMich VP of information technology, and CIO

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Ravi Pendse, currently at Brown University, has been appointed as the University of Michigan’s new vice president for information technology and chief information officer.

The five-year appointment was announced by U-M President Mark Schlissel and unanimously approved by the Board of Regents during its meeting May 17. Pendse is currently the vice president for information computing and information services and chief information officer at Brown University.

Pendse will begin Aug. 1. Andrew Rosenberg will remain as the interim leader until then and assist with the transition before returning to devote his full attention to his position as chief information officer at Michigan Medicine.

“Dr. Pendse has extensive experience as a successful and collaborative university leader,” Schlissel is quoted saying in a press release, adding, “He understands the complex technological needs of a comprehensive university, having worked in higher education as a researcher, teacher and adviser to students.”

Pendse will serve as an executive officer of the university and provide campus-wide leadership and strategic direction for information technology, according to the press release.

“I am incredibly excited, honored and grateful to have the opportunity to represent the outstanding technology professionals across the University of Michigan,” Pendse said. “Working collaboratively, we will help support and enhance U-M’s consummate research, teaching, learning and health-care mission.

“I am committed to ensuring that every person within the U-M family feels connected to our collective purpose to provide user-centric services, outstanding support for teaching and research, and advance the best and appropriate technology,” Pendse added.

At Brown, he is a member of the president’s cabinet and oversees the technology infrastructure throughout Brown’s campus, encompassing a combined annual budget of more than $40 million. Pendse also is a Brown University professor of computer science and engineering.  He has served as a professor at Wichita State University and Northern Arizona University, secured more than $21 million in external research grants, published numerous scholarly articles and received several teaching awards.

His research interests are in the areas of the internet of things, cybersecurity and policies, and ad hoc sensor networks. He has published more than 140 papers in peer-reviewed conference proceedings and journals, and has worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to evaluate the impact on security from networked airplanes.

Pendse serves on the higher education advisory group at Microsoft and on the board of High Touch Technologies, a technology solutions company for small and midsize businesses. He also is a Watson Institute Faculty Fellow and serves on the Cisco Global Advisory Committee and Aruba’s CIO Advisory Board.