UMBC Vice President for Information Technology Jack Suess will soon receive one of the highest national recognitions offered to professionals in his field: the EDUCAUSE Leadership Award.
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association that focuses on information technology (IT) in higher education and includes more than 2,300 member colleges, universities, and groups. Suess ‘81, mathematics, M.S. ‘94, information systems, will receive the award during the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, which will be held virtually this month.
“This is a tremendous honor for me. Given that my entire career has been at UMBC, it also is testament to the innovative and collaborative culture of the UMBC community,” Suess says. “In particular, I want to highlight the technology leadership of my Division of Information Technology colleagues. Through all of their efforts, UMBC is looked at as a model for the use of technology in higher education.”
Collaborative leadership
Suess was nominated and selected to receive the Leadership Award for his commitment to innovation and advancing research and scholarship in technology. He is also being honored for creating a culture of collaboration and opportunity among faculty, staff, students, and other higher education stakeholders, and for his work in diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Leaders around the country admire Jack’s valuable contributions to IT and higher education. He is a fine example of enlightened leadership,” says UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski. “We all know Jack leads effectively by serving selflessly. What makes him most extraordinary is that his emotional intelligence matches his impressive technical skills.”
Career of service
Suess has been involved with EDUCAUSE for more than two decades, serving on a variety of committees before joining the board of directors in 2014 and serving as chair of the board in 2018. Currently, Suess serves on the IMSglobal Board of Directors, which he chaired from 2015 to 2020. He is a former member of the Internet2 Board of Directors, where he received the inaugural Internet2 Presidential Leadership Award in 2011.
At UMBC, Suess has previously received the UMBC Presidential Staff Award (2004) and the UMBC Alumni Volunteer Award (2000). He served on the inaugural advisory board for UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology from 1998 to 2013.
Banner image: Jack Suess. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
