Distributed December 3, 2001
For Immediate Release
News Service Contact: Mark Nickel



Waite-Franzen named VP for Computing and Information Services

Ellen J. Waite-Franzen, currently vice president for information services at the University of Richmond, has been named vice president for computing and information services at Brown University. Waite-Franzen will begin her duties at Brown Feb. 1, 2002.

PROVIDENCE — Ellen J. Waite-Franzen, currently vice president for information services at the University of Richmond, has been named vice president for computing and information services at Brown University. As the University’s senior officer for information technology, Waite-Franzen will lead a campuswide renewal of computing, planning for which is already underway. She will begin her work at Brown Feb. 1, 2002.

“Brown is about to make an historically significant investment in its academic programs and infrastructure, and information technology will be an important element of the plan,” said Brown President Ruth J. Simmons. “I am delighted that a leader of Ellen’s experience and capacity will be coming to Brown to provide leadership for this crucial work.”

Simmons thanked Thomas Dean, chair of computer science and acting vice president for computing and information services, for his stellar and selfless guidance during the interim. Dean, who chaired the vice president search committee, has met with the University’s main planning committee to outline necessary investments in information technology. He will remain available to consult with Waite-Franzen as she begins to help Brown define an agenda for its IT investments.

Waite-Franzen will oversee Computing and Information Services (CIS), one of the University’s largest administrative departments. With a budget of more than $11 million and nearly 150 staff members, CIS supports a broad range of information technology for the University, from pagers and cellular telephones to voice mail, videoconferencing, satellite services, e-mail and Web servers, administrative computing systems, network services, equipment repair, public computing clusters, training, consulting, and academic and research support.

“Brown University was an early, visionary leader in applying desktop computing technology broadly across academic disciplines, particularly in the humanities,” Waite-Franzen said. “I am pleased and excited by the opportunity to help Brown realize the potential of that early vision. I am eager to begin my work in Providence.”

Ellen J. Waite-Franzen

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin (B.A., English, 1973, UW-Oshkosh; M.A., library and information science, 1977, UW-Milwaukee), Waite-Franzen began her career at the library of Marquette University in cataloging. In 1985 she moved to the University of Arizona Library where, among other projects as head catalogue librarian, she chaired the library’s automation planning committee and participated in a project that cleared a backlog of 50,000 uncatalogued books and catalogued all new materials within six weeks.

Waite-Franzen moved to Loyola University in Chicago in 1985 as associate director and then acting director of libraries, becoming university librarian in 1987. During 11 years at the Loyola library she helped plan and open new libraries on three Loyola campuses, helped develop a “virtual department” with the IT office to help meet faculty technology needs, and helped develop a media resource center for instructional design.

In 1994 she was named vice president for academic services at Loyola, responsible for libraries, museums, institutional research, assessment and planning. She supervised two university initiatives – distributed learning and the development and support of the electronic classroom. As vice president, she continued to serve as university librarian.

Waite-Franzen has served in her current position at the University of Richmond since 1997, overseeing the libraries, academic computing, administrative technologies, telecommunications, and all other IT areas including Web development and networking. Under her leadership, the University of Richmond established the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology and the Academic Technology Services unit, which focuses on faculty and student development and support.

She is married to Scott Franzen, an architect.

######