Speaking for information technology in higher education

Brian Hawkins to leave Brown, become president and CEO of EDUCAUSE

Senior Vice President Brian L. Hawkins has been named president and CEO of EDUCAUSE, a new organization formed by the consolidation of Educom and CAUSE, the nation's premier associations for information technology in higher education.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Brian L. Hawkins, senior vice president for academic planning and administrative affairs at Brown University, will leave Brown to become the first president and CEO of EDUCAUSE, the nation's premier association for managing and applying information technology in higher education.

Hawkins, who came to Brown in April 1986 as vice president for computing and information services, presided over Brown's transition from mainframe terminals to desktop computing. His work has taken him beyond Brown, including more than 350 consultancies and service as a higher education advisor to Apple, IBM, NeXT, Sun and Microsoft. He also served on the boards of Educom and CAUSE, the two national organizations that recently consolidated to form EDUCAUSE.

"It would be difficult to overestimate the impact Brian Hawkins has had on the quality of research, instruction and communications at Brown," said Sheila E. Blumstein, Brown's interim provost. "The information technologies we now use so routinely are the product of a thoughtful and orderly development that is remarkable given the rapid and chaotic evolution of the technology. Brian is ideally suited to be a national spokesman and advocate for information technology in higher education."

While Hawkins may be most widely known for his work in information technology, he has also played a crucial role in academic planning at Brown. Since 1989, when he was also appointed special assistant to the president for academic planning, Hawkins has had responsibility for managing the instructional budget, overseeing admission and financial aid, and managing enrollment and summer programs. He led the University's long-term planning process which produced a five-year institutional action plan, Looking Toward the Year 2000, released in February 1992.

"Brown University owes a debt of gratitude to Brian for the care and clarity with which he has approached academic and strategic planning," said Brown President E. Gordon Gee. "His ability to organize and carry out large-scale information-based projects like our recent reaccreditation self-study has been one of our greatest assets."

Hawkins will begin his new duties at EDUCAUSE on June 1, one month before the Educom-CAUSE consolidation becomes final.After a brief period of review - part of an overall administrative and organizational study that has been underway since January - the president and provost will decide how to replace Hawkins' role at the University. In the interim, the units that reported to Hawkins, including the registrar, admissions and financial aid, will report directly to the provost. The Office of Summer Studies will report to Mark Schupack, vice provost for affiliated programs.

"The last 12 years have brought profound change to Brown and to all our nation's campuses," Hawkins said. "Helping to manage that change, both in emerging information technologies and through strategic planning, has been a deeply fulfilling personal experience for me. I will miss Brown, but I look forward to continuing my work in higher education through EDUCAUSE."