Armstrong has experience leading technology initiatives in both state government and education, but his career started on the industry side. He worked in auditing and infrastructure management at Deloitte, IBM and PwC, according to his LinkedIn profile. Concurrent with his private-sector work, for two years he was an adjunct professor at Gateway Community College in Connecticut. In 2017, he combined the experiences, serving as Fairfield University’s assistant vice president for enterprise systems for nearly six years.
“His appointment represents an exciting step forward as we continue to enhance technology services and drive innovation to support student success, fiscal responsibility, and institutional excellence,” Lillian Wanjagi, SCSU's vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer, said in a public statement.
In Armstrong's most recent position, he directed IT strategy and enterprise architecture for the state of Connecticut. For three years, Armstrong was responsible for managing IT operations across 40 state agencies. According to a news release, he made strides in cybersecurity, digital transformation and AI implementation. Armstrong published a book on his experience with IT leadership earlier this year.
“The role of the CIO today is as much about people as it is about technology,” he wrote in an email to Government Technology. “Building trust, developing our staff, and creating clarity around priorities will matter just as much as any individual system or tool.”
During Armstrong’s tenure in state government, Connecticut’s Department of Administrative Services took on projects to improve data visualizations, helping constituents better understand the growing workforce at the state’s executive branch, monitor the status of construction projects and find small- and minority-owned businesses. Several initiatives backed by Gov. Ned Lamont focused on expanding Wi-Fi connectivity across the state and, more broadly, closing digital divides and promoting digital equity.
In recent years, SCSU has prioritized updating workflows and infrastructure to align with the needs and expectations of digital-native students, according to the school’s strategic technology plan for 2016 to 2026.
Armstrong said IT initiatives in state government are often more focused on stability and equity across large populations and long time periods. On the education side, initiatives tend to reflect the need to keep up with changing technologies.
“In a public university, we still need stability and consistency, but we also have a stronger need to support experimentation in teaching and learning to prepare our students for careers in fields that are evolving very quickly,” he wrote.
Though university work can be smaller in scale in terms of population, he said the variety of academic departments, research units and student-facing functions with distinct needs can be complex to navigate. In order for IT initiatives to succeed, cultural factors play a large role.
“Technology efforts advance fastest when they respect that culture, engage stakeholders early and balance best practices with flexibility,” Armstrong wrote.
For example, when considering AI implementation, he said strong partnerships with faculty are essential. He sees IT’s role as providing secure platforms and technical expertise for AI experimentation, which faculty can use to shape how AI is applied. According to Armstrong, IT must be transparent about the limitations of those platforms or tools and ensure a human remains ultimately responsible for decisions informed by AI.
As a leader, Armstrong said he starts with mission alignment when evaluating new technologies and initiatives. He looks for opportunities to meet multiple needs at once, which is all the more important with increasing resource constraints on higher ed. He said infrastructure updates are key to optimizing spending.
“AI presents real opportunities and also real challenges,” he said. “Especially given that much of higher education, including SCSU, is working to modernize technology systems that were not designed with today’s tools in mind.”
