Babson’s Information Technology Services Department Earns CIO 100 Award

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Babson College’s Information Technology Services Department (ITSD) has been named a CIO 100 Award winner for 2024, recognized for its entry, “Transforming Babson College,” which details the department’s impressive advancements over the past two years. 

Headshot of Patty Patria
Babson Chief Information Officer Patty Patria (Photo: Nic Czarnecki)

Under the leadership of Chief Information Officer Patty Patria, who joined Babson in August 2022, ITSD significantly upgraded its aging infrastructure and reduced institutional risk by building a comprehensive information security program. Among its many other accomplishments, the department also developed an IT strategic roadmap, created a 10-year capital replacement schedule, consolidated email and file storage in one tool, implemented disaster recovery, and implemented $4 million in classroom upgrades to improve the faculty and student experience. 

“Babson’s IT team has done a tremendous amount of work in the last year, improving infrastructure across the board,” Patria said. “From classroom and infrastructure upgrades to building the foundation for data analytics and predictive modeling, the dedication, commitment and hard work of the entire organization is both inspiring and humbling.” 

Last summer, the IT team also began working with key faculty at The Generator to set up a generative artificial intelligence pilot for students and faculty, which has grown into a comprehensive generative AI strategy for the College. 

“With the strong technical foundation we have built, we can now focus our efforts on cutting-edge technology like generative AI, allowing Babson to stay on the leading edge of Entrepreneurial Thought and Action,” Patria said. “I am so incredibly grateful and proud to work with such an amazing team of people.” 

The CIO 100 Awards— named by CIO, the executive-level IT media brand providing insight into business technology leadership—celebrates 100 organizations and their teams that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth, or improving relationships with customers. The awards will be presented at the CIO 100 Symposium and Awards conference August 5–7 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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