CIO Blog

A message from U of G's Associate Vice-President & Chief Information Officer, Rob Devries.

In August 2023, Rob Devries joined the University of Guelph (U of G) as the Associate Vice-President (AVP) and Chief Information Officer (CIO). Rob brings with him more than 20 years of leadership experience in various IT industries. 

A message from our Chief Information Officer:

First, I would like to give a huge thank you to all of you for your outstanding efforts over the last year to support our three campus communities. When I first joined U of G in August, I set a goal to speak to every information technology (IT) leader, dean and associate vice-president about what they do and, for those who consume our services, what they valued, how they felt about the service provided and what gaps they perceived in how we support and manage IT. Here are my top three takeaways:

In January 2023, Jeff Grieve joined the University of Guelph (U of G) and the Computing & Communications Services (CCS) team as the interim chief information officer (CIO), with 30+ years of valuable leadership experience in information technology (IT). Prior to his role at U of G, Jeff was the executive director and CIO at the University of Western Ontario (Western).

I’d like to thank you all for the warm welcome to U of G.  While I continue to learn about all that you do, this impressive collection of accomplishments gives me a great perspective on not just the scope and depth of work within the IT community, but also of the character of the people performing it. Woven into each section are the intent, the impact and the work ethic practiced by this community.

U of G’s Program Management Office (PMO) was formed in 2018 and has oversight into all IT projects at the University. This allows for greater visibility, more strategic decision making, streamlined processes and reduced duplication of effort across the institution. It also helps to safeguard project success, ensure the right stakeholders are at the table and identify warning signs when projects are at risk. In addition, the PMO supports the U of G IT Governance Council (ITGC) which has ultimate authority over IT policy, procedure and project prioritization at U of G.

Well, we’ve done it again! Another year of excellence amidst a storm of uncertainty. Never in my career has an entire organization (and really, the entire world) had to navigate so much change, both personally and professionally. I am both inspired and proud of just how well the U of G IT community has persevered these past two years. 

The U of G IT Strategic Plan is now complete!

Two years in the making and based on consultation and feedback from more than 3,500 University community members, this plan will reimagine the U of G experience for years to come.

The plan is built around five pillars – areas of impact where we wanted to better understand the challenges and opportunities for innovation and design. These pillars are:

The University of Guelph (U of G) is playing a key role in the fight against COVID-19. In partnership with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health and the Guelph Family Health Team, U of G opened its COVID-19 vaccination clinic in early March with the ability to vaccinate 2,000 people per day.  

What a year 2020 was! There is so much to reflect on, learn from, and celebrate. First and foremost, this year has strengthened the gratitude I feel to be part of the U of G community. The conversations at the senior leadership table have been more difficult compared with years past, but the primary focus never wavered – it remains the mental and physical wellbeing of our students and employees, as well as our collective success.