On July 10, the university announced that Craig A. Fowler will be joining Western as the new Chief Information Officer (CIO). As of July 27, Fowler will be in charge of continuing to keep all television and Internet systems running smoothly.
As CIO, Fowler will be responsible not only for maintaining the current information systems, but also for planning and implementing the design of future systems.
Provost Kyle Carter announced Fowler’s appointment. He remarked that Fowler would “find a good foundation waiting for him, but also [would] be challenged by increasing technology needs in the context of shrinking resources.”
Fowler is no stranger to information technology, bringing 20 years experience working in the private sector to his position. Accompanied with his experience lies a strong background working with Fortune 500 companies as well.
In 2004 and again in 2007, Governor Mike Easley chose Fowler to head the e-NC Authority, which is a plan to link all North Carolinians to the Internet. Fowler was also a member of the board of directors of the N.C. Technology Association from 2002 to 2009.
As a graduate of the University of West Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics (Fowler would later pick up a master’s degree in applied business administration at the University of Dallas), Fowler has led a distinguished career in the private sector.
Fowler has held executive positions at companies such as Dell, Raytheon, and Texas Instruments, and was Vice President of Information Technology at Corning Cable Systems.
He was selected for the position of CIO from more than 250 applicants, many of which had similar qualifications.
Fowler will replace Wilson “Bill” Stahl, who has been CIO since 2005.
