MIT Names Columbia’s Gaspare LoDuca as New CIO

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has chosen a higher-education IT veteran as its next chief information officer and vice president for Information Systems and Technology (IS&T). Gaspare LoDuca, who brings more than two decades of IT leadership experience, will fill the role starting in August, according to a news release last week.

Since 2015, LoDuca has served as CIO and vice president of IT at Columbia University. There, he led projects to modernize infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity and support research and teaching through new tools. During his tenure, Columbia developed a new student information system, a dashboard for grant seekers and a data-sharing platform for research. He also has experience in the private sector, working as a technology manager for 17 years at the IT services company Accenture, where he worked with several major universities as they modernized or adopted enterprise systems.

At MIT, LoDuca will oversee an IS&T organization of more than 250 professionals responsible for cybersecurity, administrative systems and support services. He will also help shape policy and long-term strategy as co-chair of the school’s IT Governance Committee.
“As I start my new role, I plan to learn more about MIT’s culture and community to ensure that any decisions or changes we make are shaped by the community’s needs and carried out in a way that fits the culture. I’m also looking forward to learning more about the research and work being done by students and faculty to advance MIT’s mission,” LoDuca said in a public statement. “It’s inspiring, and I’m eager to support their success.”

The news release said MIT is working to modernize its business and administrative operations. As part of this effort, IS&T is continuing its transition to hybrid cloud infrastructure designed to support both legacy systems and new virtual environments, according to the university's website.

“At a research institution, there’s a wide range of activities happening every day, and our job in IT is to support them all while also managing cybersecurity risks,” LoDuca said in a public statement. “We need to be creative and thoughtful in our solutions, and consider the needs and expectations of our community.”