May 26, 2021

Dear DFA colleagues,
 
We recently partnered with University Information Technology to assess OSU’s collective IT resources, as called for in the IT Strategic Plan 2023 in support of SP4.0. This work aligns with the DFA Guiding Principles:

  • Process consistency, balanced with flexibility, improves efficiency and effectiveness and
  • Active stewardship of resources ensures the long-term success of the university.

 
DFA unit leaders have decided to consolidate IT-related people and functions under one umbrella, in order to make best use of the DFA’s collective IT resources, to ensure our work aligns strategically with that of other divisions and to best serve our stakeholders. This consolidated IT group will be led by Ben Wessel, DFA’s Director of IT.
 
For DFA, this realignment will bring together people with similar skillsets into a functional team and provides the leadership necessary to better coordinate IT resources across the division. Better alignment with UIT will provide for more professional development opportunities and create clearer career paths for our division’s IT staff members. UIT and our division will both benefit from greater alignment and clarity about the roles and responsibilities of different IT positions.
 
In the short term, the IT realignment will provide immediate help in the digitalization of processes and identification of tools needed for planned projects. Over the longer term, it will allow for IT configuration, integration, database management, direct system access, and enterprise app/tool custodianship to be well-coordinated by DFA IT and UIT.
 
We are very early in the realignment process and there are still many details to be determined. The DFA Senior Leadership Team will partner with Andrea Ballinger, Chief Information Officer, to oversee the process and create opportunities for your involvement and input. It is our goal to organize DFA IT in a way that best serves the university’s mission and the needs of OSU community members.
 
We’ll share a timeline and a roadmap for these changes in the coming weeks. Ben Wessel can answer any questions that you may have in the meantime.
 
Sincerely,
 
Paul J. Odenthal, PE, CEM, Senior Associate Vice President for Administration
Division of Finance & Administration
 
Andrea Ballinger, Vice Provost & CIO
University Information and Technology
 
Sherm Bloomer, Associate Vice President
Budget & Resource Planning
 
Cathy Hasenpflug, Associate Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer  
Office of Human Resources
 
Heather Riney, Director, Project Portfolio Management Office
Division of Finance & Administration
 
Heidi Sann, CPA, Associate Vice President for Finance & Controller
Office of the Controller