Ian Czarnezki, previously the associate chief information officer for research and academic technologies, began a new role at the U of A on March 1. Czarnezki now serves as the associate chief information officer for research infrastructure and technologies. In this new role, Czarnezki remains within IT Services but has a presence in the Division of Research and Innovation as well.

"We're pleased to have Ian serve a substantial role within the Research Office," said Margaret Sova McCabe, vice chancellor for research and innovation. "As associate CIO of research infrastructure and technologies, Ian will be a valuable liaison between the research and IT departments."

In his new role, Czarnezki is responsible for overseeing strategic partnerships among research departments within the Division of Research and Innovation, as well as distributed college and departmental information service teams. His role also extends to research teams, business units and stakeholder groups such as facilities management and procurement.

"I am excited for the opportunity to be embedded within the Research Office to deepen the partnership between the Division of Research and Innovation and Information Technology Services in support of the research community," Czarnezki said.

A critical component of Czarnezki's new role is to ensure efforts align with the needs of the university's research enterprise and continue to advance the U of A's mission of achieving research excellence through the promotion of knowledge creation, scientific inquiry and creative works. Czarnezki will be socializing the new position with the research community and providing awareness of his role.

"Ian has proven over the past three and a half years that he is an asset to IT Services," said Steve Krogull, associate vice chancellor of Information Technology Services. "Ian's extension into the Research Office will benefit all of us here at the U of A."

Czarnezki brings over 25 years of experience to this role, having previously held positions in higher education administration in Missouri, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and Kansas. He joined the U of A in August 2021 as the associate CIO for research and academic technologies.

"There are tremendous opportunities across campus in our research infrastructure," Czarnezki said. "I will be looking to get a full understanding of all the opportunities in the first few months as well as developing pathways to move forward on these opportunities."