Kouadio named Chief Information Officer

The State University of New York at Fredonia has announced the appointment of Dr. Michel Kouadio as Chief Information Officer.

President Stephen H. Kolison Jr. noted, “Dr. Kouadio comes to SUNY Fredonia with a broad set of experiences and a passion for technology innovation in higher education. His portfolio includes long-term professional experience in senior leadership, successful strategic technology planning, a demonstrated innovation mindset, and financial and physical resources management, which make him an ideal candidate to fill the Chief Information Officer role.”

Most recently, Dr. Kouadio served as Education Technology Consultant, notably in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in West Africa, including advising schools in digital learning transformation strategies and how to stimulate innovation and the integration of emerging technologies, as well as facilitating the use of technology in strategic planning and adoption of best practices. He also promoted social inclusion initiatives.

Dr. Kouadio formerly was Director of the Education Commons/IT at the University of Toronto; Director of Technology Planning, and Innovation at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), also in Toronto; and served as Head Information Technology Unit and Systems Consultant at Simon Fraser University’s Center for Online and Distance Education in British Columbia.

Dr. Kouadio earned his Bachelor of Computer Science degree from the Institut Africain d’Informatique in Gabon, his Master of Engineering (Computer) degree from Iwate University in Japan, a Certificate of Management from the University of Texas at Dallas, and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University, serving a postdoctoral post as a researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington State.

In joining the SUNY Fredonia administration, Dr. Kouadio noted, “I am delighted to be joining SUNY Fredonia at this pivotal time, as the university looks to strengthen its strategic and innovative use of technology in both academia and operations. With the University Leadership’s vision of excellence and understanding of the role of technology as a key transformative driver, I am convinced we will be embarking on an exciting innovative journey.”

As Dr. Kouadio completes his plans to transition to Fredonia with a starting date in early March, President Kolison expressed his appreciation of the continuing service of interim CIO Ben Hartung.