Fredonia has selected Stephen J. Rieks to be its Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO). He currently serves as Director of Administrative Computing Systems at Syracuse University, where he has steadily advanced in his career since 1997.
Mr. Rieks will begin at Fredonia on May 15, reporting to Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Terry Brown. He will oversee a multi-tiered, complex Information Technology Services staff of 34 and manage an operational budget of $4.4 million. He will provide coordination and leadership over several critical campus-wide projects, including the transition to new learning and content management systems. He will also develop resources and structures that will enhance learning and teaching in Fredonia’s liberal arts environment. He fills a position that has been vacant since 2014, following the retirement of Ms. Karen Klose after 15 years in that position, and 31 years of service to the campus.
In his current role, Rieks oversees a group of 18 Information Technology (IT) professionals, providing a vast range of IT services to approximately 2,000 administrative staff at Syracuse, while managing various budgets which total more than $1.5 million. Prior to his current role, he held such positions on campus as Associate Director of Administrative Computing Systems, Associate Director of Systems and Services, and Senior System Administrator. He began at Syracuse as a Systems Administrator II in 1997, and launched his career as a contract engineer with Corning, Inc. in 1993.
“We are very excited to have Stephen Rieks join us as our new Chief Information Officer,” said Provost Brown. “He brings nearly two decades of experience with Syracuse University to Fredonia. He has the ability to evaluate and assess Fredonia’s current technology enterprise, and work with senior leadership and constituencies across our campus to guide Fredonia’s future IT investments. We truly believe we are embarking upon a renaissance of IT on campus, which will greatly enhance the way we all teach, learn and work in the 21st century.”
Rieks holds a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse’s Whitman School of Management, and a Master of Science in Information Management, also from Syracuse. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome (now known as the SUNY Polytechnic Institute).
“I am happy to receive this opportunity to join the Fredonia community and lead them through the challenges ahead in the area of Information Technology,” said Rieks. “I look forward to working with campus leaders to ensure the organizational structure, security, infrastructure, and business direction needed to help Fredonia enhance its operational efficiencies, and help the campus to achieve the proficiencies required for teaching and learning today.”
