Green Bay, Wis.—Charged with leading a digital transformation effort, Wendy Woodward joined the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on July 1, 2021 as the University’s next chief information officer (CIO). Woodward comes to UW-Green Bay from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill., where she has been the CIO since 2015. Prior to her role at Wheaton College, Woodward served as director of Technology Support Services in the Information Technology Division at Northwestern University (2004 to 2015).
UW-Green Bay’s Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice Chancellor for Institutional Strategy, Sheryl Van Gruensven made the announcement in June.
“I am very excited that Wendy will be joining UW-Green Bay and I am certain she will excel in leading the IT Division and guiding the University in all areas of technology as we navigate a much more complex environment in higher education,” Van Gruensven said. “Wendy brings to UW-Green Bay a wealth of experience in all areas of information technology, security, and integration, ensuring initiatives meet the strategic goals of the organization. She is an excellent communicator with the ability to lead a sophisticated information technology (IT) environment with a passion for supporting pedagogy, scholarship, and student experience through effective technology advancements.”
Woodward will partner with senior leaders and staff to modernize IT across the UW-Green Bay enterprise while maintaining alignment with UW System IT. This will include overseeing all aspects of IT at the University including enterprise solutions, administrative, academic support, cybersecurity, IT policies and strategic plans.
“I am thrilled to join the UW-Green Bay community and begin serving in this leadership role,” said Woodward. “The leadership at UW-Green Bay recognizes the value and opportunities that technology can enable as we support our community. My initial focus will be on working collaboratively with the UW-Green Bay community to understand where we are and define a path forward that will result in positive outcomes. I will have more to share in the coming months as plans are developed.”
Enrollment is at an all-time high and Woodward will begin evaluating the educational technologies and distance learning applications to ensure they are meeting the needs of the students and administration. An additional focus for the University has been on data analytics. The CIO will be instrumental in developing an integrated data analytics program that will assist UW-Green Bay in utilizing data and reporting in a transparent, clear and cohesive form to leverage resources and technology at the University.
Woodward will serve as member of the Chancellor’s Cabinet. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Management and a Master of Science in Communication | Systems, Strategy, and Management Emphasis from Northwestern University.
Woodward replaces Paula Ganyard, the director of UW-Green Bay Libraries, who provided leadership to the IT division on an interim basis during the merger of four campuses and a pandemic. Ganyard returned to her full-time role of overseeing four libraries effective July 1.
