Diane Holmes Barbour

Chief Information Office, Rochester Institute of Technology

Diane came to RIT with the reputation of a“builder” – a person who can take disparate systems, departments, and people and design a contemporary organization. In her more than ten years as CIO of RIT, she has done that and more with what seems remarkable ease.

As RIT’s first CIO, Diane melded three distinct technology service organizations into one formidable unit, the Division of Information & Technology Services, consisting of more than 90 staff members and more than 300 student employees.

She also organized a CIO Council to ensure that all campus departments and colleges had representation and a voice in the development of campus technology initiatives. This group became a recognized advisory group for emerging issues such as online privacy, data security, and safeguarding intellectual property.

Currently, Diane is helping to build a research computing organization at RIT. This organization will develop the infrastructure, processes and access policies needed to ensure that high performance computing capacity grows at the college for researchers and educators.

Diane was one of the founding members of NYSGrid, an integrated grid computing network to serve scientific research in New York State. RIT is now one of 21 universities and/or research organizations connected to the growing NYSGrid.

Diane is one of the quiet, but influential people who maintain an open door policy, guiding young professionals and students to advancement, by encouraging educational challenges, providing opportunities within work settings, and by advocating for inclusion, pluralism, and diversity.

Locally, Diane participates on the boards of the Visiting Nurse Service, WXXI, and the Center Information Services, Inc. Board of the Al Sigl Center. In addition, she has made significant community contributions as a member of the RIT Commission for Promoting Pluralism, and as a student and peer mentor.