KU Information Services: History, 1996 - Present
The University of Kansas Information Services was created in 1996 by Chancellor
Robert E. Hemenway as part of a
campuswide reorganization.
In his first year at
KU, a 20-member team of faculty, staff and students advised Chancellor Hemenway
about changing KU's more-than-20-year-old organizational structure. The Chancellor
announced as priorities streamlining the administration, improving KU's use of
technology, making the university more student centered and clearly defining
individual job responsibilities.
In the reorganization, the position of vice chancellor for information services
and dean of libraries was created to lead the KU Libraries as well as Computing
Services, Printing Services and Networking and Telecommunication Services. This
decision reflected the University administration's belief that information and
knowledge play a critical role in the life of the University and that the staff
who provide systems and services to support the access, use, and preservation of
information and knowledge should closely collaborate to deliver those services to
the KU community.
Today, KU Information Services is led by a vice provost who is KU's chief
information officer, and it includes two distinctive, interconnected units: the KU
Libraries and Information Technology. KU Information Services partners with the faculty,
administration and students on KU's Lawrence and Edwards campuses to build strong
research collections, create effective user services, and provide the technology
and telecommunications tools needed to help the KU community fulfill its mission
of teaching, research and service.
