John F (Barry) Walsh

Owned by Jonathan Markow
Last updated: Jun 13, 2008Version comment
4 min read

Biography


Education:  BS in Electrical Engineering from University College Dublin in Ireland and an MBA in Finance and Organizational Behavior from Indiana University;

I have had experience in both US and international industry, providing me with a wide exposure to many different cultures and since 1984, have been at Indiana University (IU), with appointments in both the CIO and CFO organizations.  During the period 1998-2007, I held joint appointments in both these organizations. This bilateral experience gave me a unique view of how technology is perceived and used as well as how it is delivered and has framed my views on technology in the institution.

In May 2007 I was appointed Associate Vice-President for Enterprise Software, where I lead an organization of 133 developers and managers that are responsible for the acquisition, design, development and implementation of the institution's major academic and business systems, for data warehousing and decision support services, the enterprise service delivery portal and the attendant enterprise application integration, including process workflow. 

IU has vended, homegrown and collaboratively developed software in its portfolio, but is increasingly looking towards open/community source for its application solutions. This position is not based on ideology, but rather on service level responsiveness and a desire to have more control of our own destiny.  Accordingly, IU has implemented the Sakai learning management software, JA-SIG CAS for our single signon solution and is in the process of implementing the Kuali Financial Systems software, with plans to follow that with the Kuali Coeus research administration software. IU staff have been and/or are active developers in Sakai, CAS and of course several Kuali initiatives.  Among the most recent efforts was to co-found (with Cornell University) the Kuali Rice initiative to develop a suite of open source middleware for application integration In 2003, I co-founded what is now the Kuali movement that is creating application software to serve the financial, research and student services functions in higher education and did the bulk of the work of recruiting and engaging the investing partners for the Financial and Research initiatives and was one of the charter members of the Kuali Foundation Board of Directors;

  • I have served on the NACUBO Board of Directors as its technical liaison where I sought to awaken a more active participation in information technology by administrative leadership;
  • I have served on numerous EDUCAUSE committees and for four years was the Director of the Educause Management Institute that provides leadership training for new or aspiting managers in information technologty in higher education;
  • I am a serving member of the JA-SIG Board.
  • I have been a frequent speaker at US and intrernational conferences and seminars dealing with the use of information technology.
  • I continue to consult to institutions on the above topics.

Platform Statement

As one of the pillars of the open source community in higher education, JA-SIG has a unique and critical position.  Our CAS and uPortal products are among the most widely used open source software applications in use in colleges, universities and industry and our reputation is that of creating "an atmosphere of trust, goodwill, and mutual respect amongst all participants".  The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation regularly acknowledges CAS and uPortal among its most successful open source investments and points to us as a model.

With this extremely successful history on which to build, JA-SIG should now move confidently into another phase of its evolution.  Capitalizing on its deep capabilities in collaborative software development, the JA-SIG community must now capture the attention of the key leaders in our institutions to ensure that it is regarded as a vital part of their strategic technical directions for the next ten years.  This is especially true of the uPortal software, with the emergence of competing directions for delivering services to students, faculty and staff on our campuses.

Web 2.0, with its emphasis on social and collaborative networks, will be a significant force in service delivery, especially to students.  New service integration and delivery solutions will be required, including an increasing demand for mobile options.  uPortal must evolve and in fact take a lead role in pursuing these goals.

To be successful, we must ensure that we are at the 'head table' in our institutions when strategic directions are being defined or we risk being marginalized as a tactical element in these plans.  Leaders are confronted with a dizzying array of technology options and guidance in defining the optimal direction will be at a premium.  I believe JA-SIG needs to be at the nexus of this process.

As one that has tried to be a thought leader in the use of technology in higher education for many years, I may have some contributions I can make in this strategic approach to the use of software from JA-SIG.  More importantly, I can help our community take its place as an integrating agent in software development, delivery and sustainability.    

My leadership position as an active participant in the JA-SIG, Sakai and Kuali communities gives me a relatively unique perspective on how these communities are evolving. I look forward to helping ensure that JA-SIG takes its rightful position as a strategic partner in this exciting new world of technology in higher education.       Â