Rob Lowden serves as Vice President and Chief Information Officer of The Ohio State University, where he leads the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation. He oversees enterprise IT, cybersecurity, data and analytics, and digital learning during a critical phase of transformation and growth. With more than 25 years of experience, he is widely regarded as a forward-looking technology leader in higher education. Before joining Ohio State, he was vice president and CIO at Indiana University, guiding IT strategy across nine campuses and medical education centers.
At Ohio State, Lowden is helping shape the university’s direction on AI fluency, digital equity, intelligent infrastructure and ethical technology practices, ensuring innovation remains student-focused and aligned to the university’s mission. His previous roles include executive associate dean and CIO of the Indiana University School of Medicine. A U.S. Navy veteran, he holds degrees in computer and technology fields from Purdue University.
In this conversation with CIO Magazine, Lowden offers a clear look at how a modern university can stay ahead in a world where technology evolves faster than most institutions can adapt. He reflects on the value of unity in large-scale IT organizations, the human side of resilience during crises, and the growing urgency of building AI fluency across an entire academic community. Below are the excerpts of the interview.
You built a long career at Indiana University before joining Ohio State. Looking back, which two projects or decisions best prepared you to lead IT at an institution the size of Ohio State, and why?
Two experiences stand out.
First, leading the alignment of a 1,500-person IT organization into a single, unified enterprise taught me the power of collaboration at scale. That work—spanning nine campuses and more than 200,000 constituents—required both precision and patience. It shaped how I listen, how I engage, and how I build shared purpose across complexity.
Second, my time as Executive Associate Dean and CIO at the largest medical school in North America gave me direct experience operating at the intersection of technology, medicine, and research. We connected clinical, academic, and administrative systems to serve physicians, researchers, and students simultaneously.
Among the projects that most prepared me for Ohio State, two rise above the rest. One was moving the entire university community to a unified digital identity—more than 200,000 people across multiple campuses, fully integrated with the state’s largest health system. That digital transformation literally touched every student, faculty member, and clinician. When this past May’s incoming class arrived, they were the first to know only a digital ID—proof that the effort had fundamentally changed the culture.
The second was IT alignment itself. I began in the medical school with an IT staff of one—me—and within six months, built and aligned nearly 200 professionals into a cohesive team. Later, as university CIO, I carried that model forward, listening across every college and business unit, aligning another 400 staff, and maturing central IT from 900 to 1,500 FTE. That alignment created lasting gains in efficiency, trust, and capability—returns that still compound year after year.
During the pandemic you helped pivot large campuses to remote learning and research continuity. What operational lessons from that period do you still apply to everyday IT strategy and resilience planning?
The pandemic underscored that technology succeeds only when people are cared for. Moving entire campuses to remote learning and research continuity demanded technical agility, yes—but also empathy and endurance.
Well-being and communication became non-negotiable. Teams were asked to deliver heroic outcomes on impossible timelines, and my role was to keep them connected, recognized, and grounded. Acknowledging those contributions openly and often wasn’t just morale building—it became the engine of resilience. That experience now informs every IT strategy I lead: technology follows trust.
Ohio State has highlighted AI fluency and digital equity as priorities. How do you balance rapid adoption of AI tools with concerns about ethics, bias, and equitable access on a campus with diverse stakeholders?
AI moves faster than any technology wave higher education has ever faced. The academy, however, is uniquely suited for it. Our mission—research, exploration, discovery—positions us to lead thoughtfully amid acceleration.
At Ohio State, AI Fluency isn’t a buzzword; it’s a conscious academic strategy. We’re building fluency for all—students, faculty, and staff—so that everyone can engage critically and creatively. By embedding questions of ethics, bias, and equity into the curriculum and our technology governance, we’re ensuring that innovation happens responsibly. We don’t chase tools; we cultivate understanding.
Cybersecurity remains a top concern for higher education. How are you structuring governance, staffing, and investments to reduce risk while enabling research and teaching that require open data access?
We focus on what I call the “brilliant basics.” Before we can secure the extraordinary, we have to master the fundamentals: a resilient network, modern identity systems, and clear governance.
Our network spans 88 counties and supports more than 30,000 wireless access points—connecting everything from 110,000 fans in the Horseshoe to remote research farms and clinical environments. It is our bedrock. We continue to invest heavily in its modernization.
Equally important is reimagining identity. We’re simplifying access for people who wear multiple hats—clinicians who also teach and research, parents and guests who engage through secure social logins. Security shouldn’t be a barrier; it should be an enabler. Our governance model brings voices from every part of the university to the table, ensuring decisions are informed, balanced, and forward-looking.
As a leader who has worked across enterprise IT, research computing, and clinical systems, how do you measure success when modernizing infrastructure that serves very different user communities?
Perception matters. IT is a service organization inside a mission-driven enterprise. Success isn’t measured in ticket closures or budget savings—it’s measured in whether we amplify the success of the people we serve.
When faculty can teach without friction, when researchers can collaborate securely across continents, when clinicians can trust their systems in critical moments—that’s success. Our job is to make excellence possible and invisible at the same time.
Outside of the job, you enjoy golf and soccer. How do those activities influence your leadership style or your approach to team building and culture?
Golf teaches focus and discipline; soccer teaches teamwork and trust. Leading IT at a large university requires both. Some days you’re alone with a tough decision and have to commit to the swing; other days you’re part of a coordinated play that only succeeds when every teammate contributes.
Both sports remind me that preparation and humility matter. In golf, one good shot doesn’t define the round. In soccer, one player never wins the match. IT leadership is exactly the same blend of individual accountability and collective success.
What single piece of practical advice would you give a young professional hoping to build a long-term career in higher education IT?
Do every task—no matter how small—with excellence. That quiet consistency becomes your reputation long before a title ever does. In higher education, people notice those who care deeply about their work. When you build trust that way, opportunity follows naturally.
It sounds simple, but it’s rare—and it compounds over time. That approach has guided me from my first help-desk job to the CIO’s chair.