Henderson State welcomes new CIO

ARKADELPHIA — Al Valbuena began this week as Henderson State University’s new chief information officer.

Valbuena was an information systems consultant with Integrated Decision Support Systems. In his new role, Valbuena will lead the technological direction of the university, including the development and maintenance of technological infrastructures. He will help the Computing and Communication Services team transition to a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system and associated enterprise applications and systems.

Steve Adkison, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said Valbuena joined a strong team in the Office of Computing and Communication Services and will bring his unique experience with data-based decisions to the table.

“Dr. Valbuena brings a wealth of experience to this new position, including time at Franciscan University and Bowie State University managing campus technology,” Adkison said.

“His interest areas include using data to assist in decision making for the university at a strategic level, and he will manage existing campus technology and communication services and coordinate the transition to emerging software-asa-service solutions appropriate to Henderson’s operational and strategic needs.”

Valbuena earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a focus on operations research and quantitative business analysis from the University of Kansas. He earned both a master’s in management information systems and doctorate in higher education management from Penn State University.

Valbuena has presented at EDUCAUSE, the Association for Institutional Research, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers. He has also published articles on higher education technology systems in professional periodicals such as the Expert Systems with Applications Journal and the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research Quarterly.