Profile: Meet Sharon Blanton
Sharon Blanton is the Chief Information Officer for Portland State University. This Frye Fellow is a well known leader in higher education IT and is very active in Educause. She earned her Bachelor's in Mass Communication and Instructional Technology, Master's in Instructional Technology, and Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. She oversees the Office of Information Technologies (OIT) which consists of approximately 85 staff and over 150 student employees. The OIT teams are organized in 5 areas:
- Computing and Networking Services - Technical infrastructure, servers, networks, telephones, directory, campus wiring, etc.
- Instructional Technology Services - Support for faculty using technology, Labs, Classroom technology, etc.
- Information Systems - Administrative applications programming and support
- User Support Services - Help Desk, publications, application training, software sales, etc.
- CIO's Office - Direction, communication, resource planning, etc.
The services Sharon and her team provide are as follows:
- Providing leadership and direction for the optimal integration of information technology in all University endeavors
- Designing and deploying an efficient and effective campus technology infrastructure including networks, telecommunications, servers and data storage, e-mail and web services, lab and classroom technologies, etc.
- Leading the campus in the development and use of enabling information technologies that support instruction, research and public service
- Developing, implementing and supporting quality information systems for administrative and academic uses
- Supporting the campus community of technology users through assistance, training, and troubleshooting
Contact Sharon Blanton
Email: sblanton@pdx.edu
Phone: (503) 725-9144
Fax: (503) 725-3476
Office: SMSU 18