IT Leadership Award Honoree Nelson C. Vincent

Editor's Note: The IT Leadership Awards, presented by Pride Technologies, celebrate local IT professionals who help local, regional, national and global businesses run better through engaged leadership and a commitment to innovation. For the next 9 weeks, check back each Tuesday and Thursday as we highlight one of the 20 honorees of this year's award.

College students are tech savvy. And they expect the best in technology services. So Nelson C. Vincent, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer for UC Information Technologies (UCIT) at the University of Cincinnati, has a tall order to fill in providing the most powerful and newest technology possible.

"Each day up to 43,000 devices connect to UC’s wireless network," Vincent says. "This is a 1,000 percent increase from just a few years ago. Industry estimates predicted undergraduate students would bring at least three to four Internet-capable devices to campuses with them, too."

At the University of Cincinnati, that means a record-breaking 4,650 freshman students and a whopping 18,600 devices new each year. That’s a lot of new devices coming onto a network within a short time for any organization, but Vincent’s team is more than up to the task.

"The University of Cincinnati is aligning its strategic IT roadmap with mission-based enterprise technologies and core systems," says Vincent. "At the same time, we have to remain nimble in order to embrace and invest in ever-shorter cycles of innovation and new technologies. The IT organization has to become more agile and nimble. This is especially true as we respond to how consumer-based devices like tablets are changing how students experience learning. The university has to accurately forecast and successfully plan for the IT resources that need to be in place to support student success and faculty research."

UC executives are proud that the university is ranked in the nation’s top 25 public research universities (National Science Foundation) but this "academic and research portfolio requires computing resources–infrastructure, hardware, software and people power," says Vincent. "And that’s where we come in. We partner with students, faculty, staff and the community to provide innovative and efficient technology solutions that support the academic and research priorities of the university."

One example of this support is the research directory that UCIT partnered with the university’s Office of Research to develop. The directory is serving as a potential model for the Ohio Board of Regents to produce a state-wide research portal featuring intellectual property generated by Ohio’s higher education research programs. Such a portal could help solve real-world problems and spark innovation across the state.

Vincent’s team also recently completed the App Lab on MainStreet–the only physical space at any university in the region dedicated to the development of mobile applications. Several apps are in development or published, such as an app for students to exchange text books, a UC Bearcat spirit app and campus safety apps to request rides, pick-ups, directions and more.

"Equipped with experienced staff, tool sets and a code library, this incubator serves as a hub for creative ‘app’ortunities that solve real-world problems," says Vincent. "UC students, faculty, staff and alumni as well as industry partners can collaborate as a community of mobile developers to bring their ideas to life."

Previous honorees featured: Jay Brown, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for UC Health; John Kellington, CIO and Senior VP, The Cincinnati Insurance Companies; Vinit Kohli, Vice President of Management Information Systems for Sibcy Cline; Anup Nair, Chief Information Officer of Vantiv