By: Alexandra Camejo / Asst. News Director
After serving as the University’s Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for four years, Dr. Min Yao will be leaving FIU for a similar position at the University of California, San Diego.
The decision to leave the University, according to Dr. Yao, stemmed from a desire to be closer to family and friends in the California region.
“I’ve personally enjoyed the support and work I’ve done with the FIU community, but my wife and I are West coast people, although I have enjoyed Miami. This move is mostly driven by my family connections over there,” said Dr. Yao.
Since taking office in 2007, Yao has steered FIU to a leading position among Florida public universities in regards to information technology.
Through his leadership FIU became the first Florida public university to implement a consolidated email system for all faculty and staff on MS Exchange 2007 email platform and MS Exchange 2010 email system with unified messaging.
The University was also the first to partner with Google to deliver student email service—an endeavor that Dr. Yao credits to student support.
“Students were not using the previous email system because they had little storage. At the time we negotiated with Google and Microsoft, and after working together with student government, we went with Google which still offers email service to us free of charge and advertisement,” said Dr. Yao on the email service, which saves $1.5 million every year.
Aside from these accomplishments, Yao considers the University’s integration of all passwords into one, his greatest achievement and primary goal.
“When I first came on board, that was the number one concern from faculty, who would come to me confused with six or seven passwords written on note paper. And after years, we’ve integrated all of them into one,” stated Dr. Yao.
In a memorandum released by Douglas Wartzok, provost and executive vice president, he attributed the University’s “integrated voice and email system, smart phone access to an enterprise information system for faculty and students, free downloads of MS Office and anti virus software for students, and wireless access in all 210 general purpose classrooms,” to Dr. Yao’s leadership of more than 200 IT professionals.
As he leaves his position at the end of January, Dr. Yao expressed conflicted emotions over his departure from the FIU community.
“After 4 years, I have worked with faculty and staff to make our University a leading establishment among Florida universities. And I owe thanks to the school, and will definitely leave here with mixed feelings,” said Yao.
Wartzok announced the selection of Robert Grillo, assistant vice president for the division of information technology as the interim CIO and vice president.
“Working with Dr. Yao has been a great experience. He brought leadership that helped the University technologically advance,” said Grillo of his experience working with Dr. Yao.
Grillo has been serving his latest position for the past three years, and is primarily responsible for managing PantherSoft, the University’s Call Center and Field Team, and Software Licensing/Hardware Repair units.
On Jan. 31, Grillo will take over for Dr. Yao and plans to work towards the five year plan set forth by the department’s division. The upcoming interim CIO is optimistic about his new role in the department and a continuation of the work ethic set forth by Yao and his position.
“I am looking forward to the challenges and experiences ahead. For me, it’s a great opportunity to help the University continue advancing in its technological endeavors,” said Grillo.
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