Information-technology infrastructure is a foundation for the University's robust academic and research enterprise, and Huapei "Pei" Chen knows full well the integral role of complex and dynamic IT systems in a successful higher education environment.

Chen joined the University of Nevada, Reno as chief information officer Monday, April 7. Her appointment follows a national search.

"Pei has deep technology expertise and solid management experience," Kevin Carman, the University's executive vice president and provost, said. "She has worked at several research universities and understands the administrative, instructional and research needs of higher education. She is an analytical thinker and sees IT as a collaborator and herself as a consensus builder."

"This is an exciting time for the University, with great potential for its advancement," Chen said. "I was truly impressed with the friendliness and efficiency of all the people I met at the University, but what really resonated with me was the collective desire and willingness of President Johnson, Provost Carman, all the executive leadership team, as well as the staff at every level to work with each other, to embrace change and to move forward with pace."

Chen comes to the University from the University of Texas, Austin, where she served as the IT division's senior director of systems, services and infrastructure since 2010. The role called on her to define, transform and implement campus-wide IT roadmaps to support teaching, research and administration, with a focus on opportunities to benefit shared services, leverage resources, increase efficiency and demonstrate value. She was also responsible for solutions addressing the latest technology trends and challenges, including security and business continuity plans, private and public cloud deployment, and mobile and web communications.

Chen previously held IT director roles at Georgia Institute of Technology; University of California, Berkeley's College of Engineering; and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She holds an MBA in management of technology from Georgia Tech, a master's degree in computer science from State University of New York and a bachelor's degree in computer science from Morningside College in Iowa.

Chen reports to Carman and serves on the University's Academic Leadership Council. Departments reporting to her include information security, application support, information and database administration, network operations and unified communications, critical systems, user services, iNtegrate (People Soft) applications and IT administration. 

"While I am deeply honored and humbled by the University's selection, I am also excited and ready to be part of this energetic and highly motivated team to demonstrate even more successes in the future," Chen said.