Dana Sanderson a finalist for 2019 Information Technology Association of Canada CIO of the Year

Dana Sanderson, Chief Information Officer at the University of Prince Edward Island, was a finalist this fall for the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) CIO of the Year. 

As UPEI’s CIO, he oversees the university’s IT strategy and execution, ensuring that it fully supports UPEI’s academic mission. He is an alumnus of UPEI’s bachelor of business administration program, and he has an MBA from the University of Ottawa. Prior to joining UPEI, Sanderson worked for more than two decades with J.D. Irving, Limited.

Sanderson was profiled by IT World Canada, alongside other finalists. In an interview, he compared his role in higher education with his experience in industry.

“At JDI, IT was part of an economic engine, with data shared when necessary but by and large protected extensively. At a university, however, access is open. We still have to protect data, but it’s much more open and collaboration-focused. This is as it should be in an environment of learning and sharing, but it’s the main challenge my team and I face: to find that happy balance between process, security, and enablement.”

Sanderson ultimately didn’t win, but he was prominently featured among the list of finalists at the Ingenious Awards in late November.

Congratulations!