UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jennifer Stedelin, vice president for information technology (IT) and chief information officer (CIO), is departing Penn State effective June 16 to begin an appointment as deputy CIO for academic and administrative technologies at Washington University in St. Louis.
Keith Brautigam, deputy CIO and chief information security officer (CISO) at Penn State, has been named interim vice president for information technology and CIO, effective June 17.
“It is bittersweet to say goodbye to Penn State. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to drive strategy across Penn State’s IT enterprise,” Stedelin said. “But most of all, I’m humbled to have had the opportunity to work with a staff of more than 1,200 dedicated Penn State professionals whose impact extends across the commonwealth in service of the University’s educational mission. As I begin in my new role at Washington University in St. Louis — a position that will take me closer to my hometown – I will bring all these experiences with me.”
At Penn State, Stedelin has led the University’s information technology enterprise, including direct oversight of Penn State IT, which supports students, faculty and staff across the institution. She has provided strategic direction for services, support, infrastructure and administrative systems across the University’s academic colleges, campuses and administrative units. She has been a member of the University’s executive leadership team, serving on the President’s Council; and has interfaced with the Board of Trustees on related topics related to the University’s IT enterprise. Stedelin has represented the University on several external boards, including KINBER, Unizin and 1EdTech.
“Jen’s leadership and innovation have helped to significantly advance the direction of IT at the University, and I am grateful for her contributions,” said Justin Schwartz, executive vice president and provost. “The University’s IT processes and services are more streamlined and efficient thanks to her efforts. These are important changes that have positively impacted the daily work of students, faculty and staff across Penn State’s campuses, in ways large and small.”
Most recently, Stedelin co-led the IT Optimized Service Team workstream — one of six workstreams across the University focused on creating a new ecosystem of shared support and services. Through this effort, she partnered with deans, chancellors and unit leaders to develop plans to address each unit’s technology needs.
“I am thankful to Jennifer for her dedicated leadership at Penn State, and for her strategic focus on optimization and impact across key areas and functions of Penn State’s IT enterprise — not only in this role but through previous positions at the University,” said Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for Finance and Business/treasurer. “I wish her the very best in the next phase of her career.”
Stedelin joined Penn State in 2017 as senior director for strategic operations. Prior to being appointed to her current role in July 2022, Stedelin served as the University’s associate vice president of enterprise systems and services since October 2019 and deputy chief information officer since November 2021. In those positions, Stedelin steered the successful transition from several legacy systems, resulting in significant savings and fewer duplicated services — including unifying email at Penn State, moving from 36 email systems to a single platform; and overseeing Penn State’s transition from the Box cloud-based storage solution to Microsoft Office 365. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in spearheading the ongoing next-generation telephony platform project, with her contributions expected to make a lasting impact as the project continues to move forward.
Before coming to Penn State, Stedelin served as deputy CIO and chief technology officer at Kent State University; assistant vice chancellor and deputy CIO at Washington University in St. Louis; and CIO at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Stedelin holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master of Business Administration, both from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.