WS Chronicle

Wake Forest has named Mur Muchane Associate Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO). He will assume his duties in January.

Muchane, who currently serves as CIO and Executive Director of Information Technology (IT) Services at Davidson College, is known for his creative leadership in exploring opportunities for managing campus needs through advances in technology.

In addition to improving transparency, service levels and responsiveness in IT Services, Muchane re-shaped the IT landscape at Davidson and expanded the sense of what to expect from this field. He led the effort to upgrade the campus to a fiber optic network, providing the capacity and performance necessary to meet Davidson’s rapidly growing needs of voice, video, data, high-end research and collaboration. He also helped forge Davidson’s partnership with edX — joining universities such as Harvard, University of Chicago, MIT and Georgetown — to produce a series of online courses and high school Advanced Placement online modules.

“Mur’s impressive experience includes listening to the needs of his community and fostering open dialogue. His track record as a collaborator has been essential in imagining the infrastructure and services that would continue to improve the application of Information Technology on a college campus,” says Wake Forest’s Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer Hof Milam.

“In an increasingly interconnected world, IT organizations need to transition into the role of active collaborator with faculty, students and staff,” says Muchane. “At Wake Forest, I look forward to working in collaboration with campus colleagues to explore new opportunities to enhance and reimagine teaching, learning and administration in the 21st century.”

Muchane joined Davidson in 1999, was promoted to Director of Instructional Technology in 2003 and became CIO and Executive Director in 2005. Prior to that, he held leadership positions at the University of Tennessee and consulted for NASA. He is actively involved in EDUCAUSE, the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges, the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education and other professional organizations.

Muchane has a Master in Science in planning (geographic information systems) from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and business administration from Warren Wilson College.

“Meeting Mur, his deep commitment to enhancing the educational experience for students and supporting faculty and staff immediately becomes apparent. This is exactly the standard that we at Wake Forest will apply as our technological landscape continues to evolve,” says Provost Rogan Kersh. “Expertise in academic computing is a critical part of the University’s dedication to improving student learning and increasing collaboration across our campus.”