KNOXVILLE — Scott Studham has been named Chief Information Officer for the University of Tennessee, effective immediately, Executive Vice President David Millhorn announced.
Studham has been the CIO at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the past four years. He also served as chief technology officer for the Center for Computational Sciences at ORNL, associate director for advanced computing at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and information technology project manager for IBM at the National Weather Service.
In March 2008, Poore was named UT Vice President for Information Technology and CIO in a limited short-term appointment. Poore’s main responsibility was to start the reorganization of the University’s IT structure that has included consolidation for better efficiency and security.
For ORNL, Studham led an IT turnaround project that has just finished after achieving a set of goals for modernizing the application environment. At UT, Studham will be tasked with continuing the University’s IT reorganization and with beginning planning for the longer-term future of IT.
Millhorn thanked Poore for his efforts over the last year and said Studham will fill a critical need at the University.
“Jesse has done a wonderful job getting the reorganization up and running, and he has done so well ahead of schedule expectations,” Millhorn said. “Efficient and secure IT is crucial to an institution as large as UT, and it is vital to continue to have someone of Scott’s caliber leading what Jesse has started.”
Studham earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Washington State University and recently completed the Executive MBA program at UT Knoxville.
Six times in his career, Studham has been the program manager or architect for one of the world’s top ten supercomputers. He won the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Supercomputing Conference StorCloud Challenge award for the most innovative use of storage in 2004 and was named in 2003 a Computer World Honors Laureate, the Smithsonian Institute’s award for innovative technologies.
Poore returns to his previous post as professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UT Knoxville and as director of the UT-ORNL Science Alliance.
Poore said he has called on Studham often during the last year for advice on various technologies and trends for the future.
“While the university environment is very different from that of a national lab, I am confident that Scott will be very sensitive to the differences and learn quickly. I am delighted to hand this critical function over to Scott,” Poore said. “I also appreciate the opportunity I have enjoyed to serve the University in a special way.”
Studham said he looks forward to the challenges offered by the UT System and its campuses and institutes.
“The University accommodates much more variation than is possible in a national lab. That should be very refreshing and inviting of greater exploration. The students drive the technology at a university, and the leading-edge technology in the new Haslam Business Building is clear evidence that the faculty listen,” Studham said.
Contact:
Gina Stafford, (865) 974-0741, stafford@tennessee.edu