A double alumnus of St. John’s, Joseph Tufano
joined the University in 2002 and is currently the Vice President
and Chief Information Officer of Information Technology. During his
tenure, he has transformed the culture of the academic community,
driving its commitment to the use of technology in every facet of
campus life.
This transformation began in 2003, when St. John’s instituted
its Academic Computing Initiative (ACI) program, which included the
installation of a ubiquitous wireless network and the distribution
of laptop computers to faculty and all incoming freshman students,
as well as the launch of the Portable Professor™ faculty technology
seminars. To date, more than 30,000 laptops have been distributed
and over 75 percent of St. John’s faculty members have participated
in the seminars. Due to the success of the ACI program, the
University was ranked in Intel’s Top 10 Unwired Colleges, and
PC Magazine ranked St. John’s as number 13 in top wired
institutions.
In support of its academic initiatives, the University has
developed technology rich laboratories for the Pharmacy, Finance,
Computer Security and Foreign Language programs. In support of its
global mission, St. John’s opened locations in Rome and Paris,
which have been fully integrated into the technology
infrastructure.
The University implemented a state-of-the-art emergency alert
notification system, which was instrumental in safeguarding the
entire campus community. The system was activated during a
September 2007 campus emergency and received nationwide recognition
in the news media. The system has been replicated and
employed at other major universities.
Other security initiatives include deployment of a digitized
campus-wide security camera system and a student recognition
card-swiping system. To support the University’s efforts to improve
student administrative services, the Office of Information
Technology automated the student service processes from admission
through graduation. The enhanced system involves imaging and
workflow of student documents, creating a complete online academic
record for every student.
Mr. Tufano is a member of the University’s Executive Planning
Committee. He has received individual recognitions for his work at
St. John’s, which include:
- Computerworld’s 2008 Premier 100 IT Leaders, presented
to IT executives who effectively executed IT strategies in their
organizations
- CIO Magazine’s 2008 CIO 100 Award, presented to
technology leaders who added new IT value in innovative ways
- 2008 and 2012 Program Judge for Computerworld’s Honors
Program
Mr. Tufano has more than 30 years experience in the information
technology industry. Prior to joining St. John’s, he held
executive positions at Prudential Financial, Inc., and MetLife. Mr.
Tufano earned a B.A. and M.A. in Mathematics from St. John’s
University and an M.S. in Computer Science from Polytechnic
University.