Following a national search, Rashmi Radhakrishnan has been named vice president and chief information officer at Arcadia University. She begins her tenure on Aug. 15. 

At Arcadia, Radhakrishnan will serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet, lead and manage information technology (IT) efforts, assess and plan for the University’s long-term technology needs, oversee cybersecurity initiatives at Arcadia’s campuses around the world, and ensure user-centric IT support for all members of the Arcadia community. 

“Having a robust and efficient IT unit and structure is crucial for universities today,” said Dr. Ajay Nair, president of Arcadia. “The needs go beyond communication and include security, infrastructure, and academic and non-academic performance.” 

As Albright College’s vice president for Digital Strategy and Infrastructure / CIO (2017-present) and CIO (2013-17), Radhakrishnan was responsible for all aspects of technology on campus, including enterprise applications, enterprise data, information security, security awareness, infrastructure, and communications. She led the successful launch of a real-time, decision-support tool that tracked and projected revenue based on retention trends, financial aid, and other factors, as well as a multi-phased information security program that resulted in a 95 percent reduction in phishing and spear-phishing attempts on faculty and staff.

Prior to her time at Albright, Radhakrishnan spent 12 years at Jefferson University (formerly Philadelphia University), serving as director of Administrative Computing (2001-07), assistant vice president of Information Resources (2007-11), and associate vice president of Information Resources (2011-13). Among her accomplishments at Jefferson was improving scheduling efficiency through a Smart Growth portal that included actionable analytics for academic officers, as well as developing an IT vision that aligned with the organizational mission. 

In 2013, Radhakrishnan was named a Top IT Pro by The Philadelphia Business Journal for innovation at a nonprofit or government agency for the use of performance analytics and dashboards across the University’s business and academic units. She has presented on a variety of IT issues at conferences and professional organizations, including on “The Challenges and Benefits of a Cloud-Based ERP for Smaller Institutions” and “Using Performance Analytics to Drive ‘Smart Growth’ Planning.”

Radhakrishnan earned a Master of Science in Instructional Technology at Jefferson University and a Bachelor of Science in Business at Meenakshi College in Chennai, India. She completed a leadership program with EDUCAUSE and a Management Development Program at Harvard University.