Gary Pratt named chief information officer for Kansas State University
Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017
MANHATTAN — Following a national search, Gary Pratt has been named Kansas State University's chief information officer.
Pratt, currently vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Eastern Washington University, will begin his responsibilities at Kansas State University on Oct. 1. With a new reporting structure for the position, he will serve on the President's Cabinet and report directly to the university president. Pratt also will have dotted line responsibility to Provost and Senior Vice President April Mason and work closely to facilitate a working relationship with the academic community.
"Dr. Pratt has a strong background in information technology systems in a university setting in addition to an abundance of leadership and strategic planning experience," said President Richard Myers. "As the university continues to progress toward becoming a Top 50 public research university, having a secure and robust technology environment is critical for our land-grant mission of education, research and outreach."
Pratt will lead K-State's Information Technology Services, or ITS, which supervises the university's communications, networking and server/storage infrastructure and services; academic, administrative and instructional technologies and support services; desktop support; technology training; information and technology security; infrastructure for research computing; and data and information management.
"I feel privileged to join this outstanding team as K-State’s chief information officer," Pratt said. "Information technology in higher education brings ever-changing opportunities and challenges, and I look forward to working with faculty, staff and students to help the university advance strategically through its use of technology.
At Eastern Washington University since 2007, Pratt has reorganized technology units into one comprehensive organization, led the university's technology support functions and strategic planning, administered a $12 million budget and led an 85-person staff. He has experience with implementing smart classrooms, enterprise resource planning, or ERP, systems, media production systems, fileserver operations and network operations.
"We look forward to welcoming Dr. Pratt to K-State," Mason said. "With this change in reporting structure, Gary will be our senior executive charged with leading change across our technology environment. His expertise as a change agent and analytical thinker will further strengthen the university's academic and research growth."
Pratt served as associate provost for information technology and CIO at Northern Kentucky University from 1999-2006; director of computer, network and information systems, director of institution research, and coordinator for the Literacy Skills Center at Front Range Community College in Colorado from 1986-1999; and as a mathematics faculty member at the University of Denver. In addition, he has volunteered for many statewide leadership positions in Washington and Kentucky, which earned him an award for effective information technology collaboration that improved Kentucky's Learning Management System.
Pratt has a Doctor of Management and Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix, a Master of Arts in management computer information systems from the University of Denver and a Bachelor of Science from Colorado School of Mines.
