Announcing our Interim CIO

Dear Colleague,

I previously announced that CIO Mary Walsh will retire, effective August 5. Today, I am pleased to share that Chief Information Security Officer Ed Hudson has agreed to serve as Interim CIO.

Since joining KU as CISO in 2022, Ed has worked with Mary to ensure IT security is a leading factor in our campus technology systems, processes and decisions. I appreciate Ed’s thoughtful, collaborative approach to working with campus partners to help them achieve their academic and research goals as securely as possible.

Mary will continue her relationship with KU through Sept. 30, in order to work closely with Ed in transitioning responsibilities and projects to ensure continuity.

In his role as Interim CIO, I have asked Ed to focus on the following priorities:

• Maintain and build on advances under Mary’s leadership related to teamwork and customer service.
• Develop a strategic vision and executable plan for IT infrastructure, security and related support across the Lawrence-Edwards campus and all reporting area locations to meet compliance, reporting and campus stakeholder needs.
• Create a fiscal plan to address the resources needed to execute the strategic model in partnership with KU Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWitt.
• Successfully develop or integrate information systems, tools, interfaces and secure platforms necessary to support KU's reaffirmation of accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC); as well as deliver competency-based education according to standards of the HLC and the Competency-Based Education Network (CBEN).
• Oversee and direct IT services for campus and manage the operational activities of KU IT, including staff oversight.
• Be a key collaborative partner with internal and external stakeholders.

Ed brings 20 years of IT security and IT governance experience to the interim role. Prior to joining KU, he worked as the CISO for the California State University system, overseeing strategic information security and privacy efforts for the 23 campuses of the CSU system. Ed also served as faculty director for the EDUCAUSE Management Institute, where he helped oversee and lead management training sessions with a goal to improve the impact of information technology in higher education.

In addition to his higher ed experience, Ed has held senior leadership IT security positions in the private sector and served in the U.S. Marine Corps on the Presidential Flight Detail (Marine One helicopter). He earned a Master of Public Administration at California State University-San Bernardino and a bachelor’s in information technology from University of Phoenix. Ed maintains a number of professional certifications, including information security manager certification.

Mary and Ed have been a solid team in strengthening the security around our systems and data by increasing the sophistication of our protection and response capabilities. I again want to thank Mary for her leadership as CIO, and I appreciate Ed’s willingness to serve as Interim CIO to continue their work.

Respectfully,

Barb

Barbara A. Bichelmeyer
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor