Samuel Steven Conn, Ph.D.
Fayetteville
Summary
Accomplished educator with a strong commitment to integrating professional practice in information systems into my teaching approach. Over seven years of full-time faculty experience and fifteen years of online and hybrid teaching. Developed a robust ability to deliver innovative, industry-relevant course content at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Extensive professional background in information systems bridges the gap between theoretical concepts and real-world applications. Strong publication record in information systems and related technologies demonstrates dedication to staying at the forefront of emerging trends. Focus on enhancing student learning experience and equipping students with practical skills for career success. Student-centered pedagogy fosters engagement and supports diverse learners. Successfully guided numerous students through their academic journeys, empowering them to launch rewarding professional careers. Passion for excellence in teaching and mentoring, creating a dynamic educational environment that promotes student success and persistence. Over 35 years of experience in military, business, technology, and higher education sectors as a results-driven technology industry professional. Proven track record of delivering high-quality, value-driven technology solutions through information systems and technology services. Expertise in envisioning and leading large-scale digital transformation initiatives grounded in return-on-investment and business value translates as professional practice in support of teaching.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
President and Chief Executive Officer
NJEdge, Inc.
09.2016 - Current
- Appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer by the NJEdge, Inc. Board of Trustees and New Jersey Presidents' Council to lead New Jersey's Research and Education Network into its next generation of opportunity and service and grow capacity and capability in high-performance advanced optical fiber network infrastructure as well as technology solutions center functionality. As a 501(c)(3) statewide resource to education, government, and healthcare, NJEdge, Inc. was restructured organizationally and financially in the initial year of my administration to facilitate service to an increased number of verticals in the digital economy, enhance opportunities for business incubation and economic development, and ensure that New Jersey and the region are competitive and digitally transformed as a national leader in education, research, and innovation.
- Led the construction and implementation of multi-year strategic plans for the organization, now positioned to complete with successful attainment of plan objectives. Oversight of an annual operating budget in excess of $25M and the advancement of multiple key lines of business that serve to provide essential broadband services across the region and connect nationally through strategic partnership with Internet2 and other research and education networks, NJEdge, Inc. has now evolved as a regional technology and innovation solutions center meeting the needs of members in higher education, K-12 education, healthcare, and local government entities.
- Focused on positioning the organization and region as a national model of excellence for science, technology, and innovation, current work involves establishment of a public and private partnership to complete last mile dark fiber services and increase opportunities for economic development, digital inclusion, and support for technology transfer programs in new and different ways. NJEdge, Inc. through leveraging its statewide advanced cyberinfrastructure, now provides critical professional services, thought leadership, and capacity and capability for digital transformation to advance New Jersey regionally and nationally as an innovation hub, academic stronghold, and research leader.
Executive Vice President & CIO
SUNY Empire State College
06.2014 - 09.2016
- Selected as interim Executive Vice President to restructure and enhance the College's performance in the finance and administration division, as well as the integrated technology division. Key initiatives included strategic planning, revenue planning, zero-based budgeting, capital planning, and construction of an investment portfolio. Restructuring initiatives included the institutional budget model, procurement, real estate capital construction and facilities management, institutional security, and internal audit, control, and compliance.
- Initially recruited to the president's cabinet as Vice President of Integrated Technologies and Chief Information Officer to play a key role in the restructuring of the statewide institution, known as ESC 2.0. Working across the College, current responsibilities included an institution-wide initiative to model, re-engineer, and align business processes; design enterprise information systems architecture in support of the College's mission and vision; modernize and harden technology infrastructure and platforms; leverage relationships and resources within the SUNY system; and create new mechanisms to ensure sustainable growth as well as the College's long-term financial health. In my role as Vice President for Integrated Technologies and Chief Information Officer, I led the strategic (business and technology) vision for the College.
- Initiatives involved new statewide and western Europe (campuses) service management strategies based on the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework using ServiceNow as an implementation tool. Work also involved new construction and consolidation of data centers to increase efficiency, enhance security, and provision cloud-computing services. Strategic investment initiatives also included robust platforms for mobile computing, new enterprise information systems architecture involving constituent management relationship (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and robust business intelligence and predictive analytics capabilities. Key efficiency strategies included moving to the cloud, outsourcing and consolidation to lower technology operating costs while improving efficacy to leverage technology investment.
Vice President for Information Technology & CIO
Southern Polytechnic State University
04.2012 - 06.2014
- Appointed to serve as a senior member of the president's cabinet, my role functioned as the University's innovative, dynamic, and experienced Information Technology chief executive with strong strategic leadership and managerial responsibilities, and a vision to anticipate the evolutionary pathways of new technology and the imagination to identify new uses of information and technology. Responsibilities included leadership, coordination, management, and support for the University's strategic technology initiatives through the University Information Technology Services (UITS) division. In response to the University mission and vision, UITS worked to optimize technology resources to advance the University through four groups: Information Technology, Information Systems, Technical Support, and Campus Business Technologies.
- The Information Technology Group designed, constructed, and maintained the physical components of the University's wireline and wireless networks, data center operations, library, police security network, and cloud computing infrastructure. Working to achieve a reliable, available, scalable, and secure network infrastructure and hosting environment, this Group was also tasked with operational support for networked systems administration. The Information Systems Group supported and maintained enterprise and departmental level software applications through all phases of the system development life-cycle process. Working to advance the technology value proposition of data to information to knowledge, this Group was responsible for hardware and software project management, database system engineering and administration, and technology purchasing and logistics.
- Moreover, this Group provided Enterprise Information Management to the organization through Business Intelligence and Enterprise Content Management. The Technical Support Group built and maintained physical and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) learning spaces on campus, IP classrooms, and provided desktop support for all academic and administrative computing.
- The Campus Business Technologies Group worked to improve the efficiency of University academic and administrative business processes through business process reengineering and automation of workflows. This Group also served to support technology portfolio management, implement digital document management, support strategic planning through enterprise administration of strategic planning software, increase use of big data concepts, and support business intelligence platforms and tools.
- Also served on faculty with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, taught traditional classroom courses at the undergraduate level in information technology service management. Developed course curriculum and assessment strategies in concert with an experiential learning approach. Academic advising provided to students in relation to degree emphasis and planning, course selection and sequencing, and capstone courses.
Vice President for Information Technology & Online
Georgia Military College
12.2010 - 03.2012
- Recruited to Georgia Military College and promoted to serve as the chief executive, strategist, and visionary for the institution's information technology organization composed of three departments: Institutional and Academic Computing; Network Services and Telecommunications; and Online Learning. As a member of the president's cabinet, led the development of strategy, implementation, and operations for the institution's technology infrastructure to ensure a robust enterprise-computing environment that supported the academic goals of the institution and the College's administrative services.
- Working in collaboration with executive and senior administrative staff members in all units of the institution, responsibilities included all aspects of Information Technology support for academic and administrative functions, including campus-wide data and voice-over-IP (VOIP) networks; enterprise software applications; server and networked personal computing environments; technology support for faculty teaching and online education; video telecommunications services; Service Desk; and cyber-security.
- Responsibilities also included planning and execution for the start-up of the College's Online Campus including: drafting prospectus and managing substantive change procedure with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); organizational planning and staffing; and all areas involving digital marketing, student recruitment, admissions, governance, services, instructional design, online instruction, financial aid, and graduation. This nascent initiative resulted in establishment of the College's Online Campus with surplus revenue growth of $1.3M in its first 14 months of operation.
Director
Center for Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
01.2010 - 12.2010
- Responsibilities included leadership and management of online and digital learning initiatives ensuring a holistic approach to eLearning through a collaborative cross-university approach. Work involved strategic collaboration with the University's colleges and academic departments to evaluate online program development, teaching and learning, and online assessment. Through information and communication technologies, work involved design, development and implementation of quality synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning experiences and leadership in the construction of new and scalable models of eLearning. Recommended online learning policies and procedures to University governance; resolved eLearning technical barriers and issues; prepared online program budgets and ensured effective operations; and developed a team-based and participatory work environment to accomplish organizational goals and objectives. Provided faculty development and support in the areas of digital literacy, online course instructional design, construction, and delivery. Evaluated online program efficacy to ensure continuous quality improvements. Served on faculty for the Department of Computer Engineering and Technology to teach and advise undergraduate students in the program and develop new and innovative pedagogical approaches to technical education.
Executive Director
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
04.2008 - 01.2010
- Served as Executive Director for a key strategic business unit at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), a Research 1 institution. The Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning was responsible for production, growth, and advancement of online learning and technology-infused distance education for over 30,000 students. Responsibilities included operations for eLearning Information Technology infrastructure, student information system, general ledger accounting system, instructional design and development, faculty development and support, and program and course research and assessment. Using a systems life-cycle approach, quality improvement initiatives were engaged at all levels of the operation to improve faculty and students' academic experience. Key responsibilities also included engagement in new eLearning initiatives across the University, support for existing online and interactive video-conferencing courses, Internet2 strategies, procurement, personnel, budgeting, accreditation, strategic planning and reporting, and interaction with other domestic and foreign key university strategic business units.
Graduate Faculty & Chair CIS Department
Regis University
09.2001 - 04.2008
- Joined Regis University as lead faculty for database technologies in the Computer Information Systems graduate program. Responsibilities included preparation and teaching of undergraduate and graduate courses in information systems data management and administration, network security, enterprise information architecture, business analytics, systems analysis and design, project management, and other related information systems courses. Additional faculty responsibilities included advising of majors and minors in Computer Information System programs, advising student projects, guided independent studies, graduate research, and internships.
- Faculty duties also involved the re-design of courses, development of new courses, contributions to interdisciplinary minors, and the development of new programs. In collaboration with faculty colleagues, role included scholarly activities related to the Information Systems field of study and involved published refereed articles, academic conference presentations, serving on various professional and department, college, and university committees and boards, and work on sponsored programs. Moreover, faculty role involved engaging in professional and community service related to Information Systems.
- Subsequently promoted to Computer Information Systems Department Chair, supervising curriculum and instruction, student advising, enrollments and registrations, and approximately 140 faculty members. Headed student retention planning, faculty recruitment, selection, mentoring, development, and evaluation. As Chief Technology Officer for the Oracle Virtual Labs, provided vision and support for a globally accessible network of virtual learning environments in support of polytechnic curricula. Initiatives in online course design, development, and implementation resulted in rapid enrollment growth and expansion into European markets through a partnership with the National University of Ireland.
Education
Ph.D. - Information Systems
Nova Southeastern University
Ft. Lauderdale, FL02.2009
M.S. - Computer Information Systems
Regis University
05.1999
B.S. - Business Administration
University of Phoenix
Tempe, AZ02.1987
A.A.S. - Meteorological Equipment Technology
Community College of The Air Force
Montgomery, AL10.1980
Skills
- Systems Analysis and Design
- Supply Chain Management
- Technology Management
- Database Concepts/Architecture
- Enterprise Information Systems
- Project Management
- Knowledge Management
- Management Information Systems
- Database Systems/Administration
- Cloud Computing
- Network Design/Management
- Database Theory/Data Analytics
- Security, Privacy, and Policy
- Artificial Intelligence Systems
Selected Honors and Invited Talks
- Recognized in 2022 by ROI-NJ as Influencer Technology 2022 – Thought Leader
- Recognized in 2021 by ROI-NJ as Influencer Technology 2021 – Thought Leader,
- Georgia CIO Leadership Association (GCLA) Nominee and Top Finalist for 2014 Georgia CIO of the Year Award.,
- Association of Telecommunications Professionals (ATP) Top Finalist for 2013 “Enterprise CIO of the Year” (November 14, 2013).,
- Georgia 2013 Conference for College and University Auditors. “Distance Learning: Looking to the Future.” (May 2013).,
- Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) Moderator for 7th Annual CIO Roundtable (October 17, 2013).,
- Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) CIO Panelist for 6th Annual CIO Roundtable (September 20, 2012).,
- Kentucky State University Fall Faculty Institute Keynote Speaker (August 16, 2010).,
- Northrup-Gruman Mission Systems “The Semantic Web” (February 21, 2004).,
- Conference on Ethics & Technology “Issues and Trends in IT Ethics for IS Curriculum” (Boston College June 27, 2003).
Publications
Lei, L., Conn, S., & Markham, C. (2014). Promoting Active Learning in Distance Education: A Case of Student-Centered Guest Lecturing. Proceedings of the 17th Southern Association of Information Systems Conference. Macon, GA. March 21- 22, 2014.
Markham, C. & Conn, S. (2013). Application of Lean Management Techniques in Support of Improved Online Learning: A Baseline Study of Deterministic Factors Related to Instructional Design and Course Development Efficacy. Proceedings of the 2013 Information Systems Educators Conference (ISECON 2013). San Antonio, TX. November 7-10, 2013.
Conn, S., Reichgelt, H. (2013). Cloud Computing in Support of Applied Learning: A Baseline Study of Infrastructure Design at Southern Polytechnic State University. Information Systems Education Journal, 11(2) pp 15-22. http://isedj.org/2013-11/ ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2012)
Hall, S., Amelink, C.T., & Conn, S.S. (2011). A case study of a thermodynamics course: Informing online course design. Journal of Online Engineering Education, Vol 1 (2).
Quesada, H., Conn, S. & Sanchez, L. (2011). A Survey of Educational Needs and Online Teaching Perceptions in the Wood Products Industry. Journal of Extension, Vol 49(1).
Hall, T., Dancey, C., Conn, S., Amelink, C. (2011). Our first online offering of introduction to thermal-fluid engineering. Proceedings of the ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition. Denver, Colorado, November 11-17, 2011.
Conn, S., English, J., Scheffler, F., & Hall, S. (2010). Using Undergraduate Information Systems Student Epistemic Belief Data in Course Design: A Research-based Approach to Improve Student Academic Success. Proceedings of the Information Systems Educators Conference 2010 (Nashville, TN), October 27-30, 2010. (ISECON 2010 Distinguished Paper Award).
Conn, S., Hall, S. & Amelink, C. (2010). A Case Study of a Thermodynamics Course: Informing Online Course Design. In Proceedings of the 2010 ASEE Conference, Louisville, KY.
Conn, S. (2010). Improving undergraduate student success: Strategies for applying baseline epistemic belief data in concert with developmental education. Proceedings of Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education 2010 Faculty Development Conference. Lexington, KY.
Conn, S., Hu, D., Boyer, J. & Wilkinson, T. (2010). Scaling large-size undergraduate classes at a top research university via eLearning strategies: A facilitated model of instruction using Web 2.0 paradigm. Information Systems Education Journal, 8(5). http://isedj.org/8/5. ISSN 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in the Proceedings of ISECON 2009: §3113. ISSN: 1542-7382. Meritorious Paper Award).
Conn, S., Macedo, P., & Meese, J. (2009). Synchronizing Development Life- Cycles: Rationale and Integrative Approach to Construction of eLearning Systems and Online Courses at a Tier 1 Research Institution. Proceedings of the Conference on Information Systems Applied Research 2009, Washington D.C.
Conn, S. (2008). Implementation and Management of an Information Systems Practicum in a Graduate Computer Information Technology Curriculum. Information Systems Education Journal, 6 (25). http://isedj.org/6/25/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (Also appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2004: §3224. ISSN: 1542-7382.)
Conn, S. & Forrester, L. (2006). Model Driven Architecture: A Research Review for Information Systems Educators Teaching Software Development. Information Systems Education Journal, 4 (43). http://isedj.org/4/43/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (Also appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2005: §2534. ISSN: 1542-7382.)
Conn, S. (2006). Teaching Knowledge Management in the Context of Information Systems Education: A Foundation for Educators and Curriculum. In the Proceedings of ISECON 2006, v 23 (Dallas): §3122. ISSN: 1542-7382.
Conn, S. & Forrester, L. (2005). Model Driven Architecture: A Research Review for Information Systems Educators Teaching Software Development. In the Proceedings of ISECON 2005: §2534, v 22 (Columbus OH).
Conn, S. & Likarish, D. (2005). An Information Systems Teaching Case: Bayesian Probability Applied to Spam E-mail Filters. Proceedings of the Eleventh Americas Conference on Information Systems, Omaha, NE, USA August 11th- 14th2005.
Conn, S. (2005). OLTP and OLAP Data Integration: A Review of Feasible Implementation Methods and Architectures for Real Time Data Analysis. The Proceedings of IEEE SoutheastCon 2005 (Ft. Lauderdale), April 8-10, 2005. Conn, S. (2005). Toward Semantic Web Content Using Oracle In-Engine XML Generation from Relational to Object-Relational Mappings. Proceedings of RMOUG Training Days Conference (Denver), February 8-9, 2005.
Conn, S. (2004). Implementing Successful Online Learning. The International Principal (ISSN 1329-895X) Auckland, New Zealand.
Conn, S. (2004). A New Teaching Paradigm in Information Systems Education: An Investigation and Report on the Origins, Significance, and Efficacy of the Agile Development Movement. Information Systems Education Journal, 2 (15). http://isedj.org/2/15/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (Also appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2003: §3212. ISSN: 1542-7382.)
Conn, S. (2004). Implementation and Management of an Information Systems Practicum in a Graduate Computer Information Technology Curriculum. In The Proceedings of ISECON 2004, v 21 (Newport): §3224. ISSN: 1542-7382. (Meritorious Writing Award)
Conn, S. (2004). A Methodology for Implementing Ontology-Driven Information Systems Using Higher Order Semantic Database Models. Proceedings of the Tenth Americas Conference on Information Systems (New York), August 5-8, 2004.
Conn, S. (2004). Implementing a Strategic, Sequential, and Iterative Pedagogical Flow to Online Distance Education Learning in Information Systems Curricula. Proceedings of the Tenth Americas Conference on Information Systems (New York), August 5-8, 2004.
Conn, S. (2003). A New Teaching Paradigm in Information Systems Education: An Investigation and Report on the Origins, Significance, and Efficacy of the Agile Development Movement. In The Proceedings of ISECON 2003, v 20 (San Diego): §3212. ISSN: 1542-7382.
Conn, S. (2003). Platform architecture for thin-client/server delivery for oracle interface and tools. The Proceedings of the Ninth Americas Conference on Information Systems (Tampa). Vol. 1 pp. 608-617.
Conn, S. (2003). Platform architecture and features for thin-client/server delivery for oracle interface and tools. The Proceedings of RMOUG Training Days 2003 Conference (Denver). Vol. 1 pp. 99-112.
Conn, S. (2002). Platform Architecture and Features for Thin Client Application and Tool Delivery and Integration in Internet-based Distance Education. In The Proceedings of ISECON 2002, v 19 (San Antonio): §412a. ISSN: 1542-7382.
Conn, S. (2002). Agile methodologies aid development of database applications. New England Journal of Technology. August 30, 2002.
Texts in Print
Conn, S., Hall, S. & Herndon, M. (2010). Student epistemic beliefs as a catalyst for online course design: A case study for research-based eLearning. Book chapter in Cases for Building Quality Distance Delivery Programs: Strategies and Experiences. ISBN 978-1609601119 Hershey, PA: IGI Global Publishing.
Conn, S. (2010). A Methodology for Design and Development of eLearning Networks: Utilizing a Structured Approach. ISBN 978-3-639-27282-6 Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag Publishing House Ltd.
Academic Honors and Awards
• Distinguished Paper Award, ISECON 2010
• Meritorious Paper Award, ISECON 2009
• Upsilon Pi Epsilon: International Honor Society for the Computing Sciences (2008)
• Distinguished Merit Writing Award, ISECON 2004
• Excellence in Teaching Award 2002 Regis University Graduate Programs
• Excellence in Teaching Award 2001 Regis University Graduate Programs
• Excellence in Teaching Award 2000 Regis University Graduate Programs
• Best Practices in Teaching Award 1999-2000 Regis University Undergraduate Programs
Professional and Civic Affiliations
- Board of Directors, The Quilt, United States Consortium of Research and Education Networks
- Graduate of State University of New York (SUNY) Leadership Institute
- Association of Computing Machinery(ACM)
- Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)
- Association of Information Systems (AIS)
- Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
- Upsilon Pi Epsilon: International Honor Society for the Computing Sciences
- Society of Information Management (SIM)
Timeline
President and Chief Executive Officer
NJEdge, Inc.
09.2016 - Current
Executive Vice President & CIO
SUNY Empire State College
06.2014 - 09.2016
Vice President for Information Technology & CIO
Southern Polytechnic State University
04.2012 - 06.2014
Vice President for Information Technology & Online
Georgia Military College
12.2010 - 03.2012
Director
Center for Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
01.2010 - 12.2010
Executive Director
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
04.2008 - 01.2010
Graduate Faculty & Chair CIS Department
Regis University
09.2001 - 04.2008
Ph.D. - Information Systems
Nova Southeastern University
M.S. - Computer Information Systems
Regis University
B.S. - Business Administration
University of Phoenix
A.A.S. - Meteorological Equipment Technology
Community College of The Air Force
Similar Profiles
Darius BrownDarius Brown
Automotive Technician at Meineke Car CareAutomotive Technician at Meineke Car Care
Morgan BrittMorgan Britt
Bakery Assistant at Superior BakeryBakery Assistant at Superior Bakery
Jesse ClarkJesse Clark
Staff Director at StaticStaff Director at Static