Information technology (IT) is a strategic enabler for teaching, learning, research, outreach, and administration across Cornell. Experienced IT professionals are embedded throughout colleges, schools, departments, and administrative units, working closely with faculty, staff, and students to deliver the technology services and support they need.

Across Cornell's Ithaca campus, Cornell Tech, and affiliated locations, teams of IT professionals are organized in a federated community united by shared goals, standards, and leadership. By combining deep knowledge of local needs with university-wide collaboration, Information Technology delivers solutions that support individual work, academic programs, research initiatives, and institutional priorities.

Under the leadership of Chief Information Officer Ben Maddox, teams of IT professionals across the Ithaca-supported campuses and Cornell Tech work together to provide technology services, infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, innovation, and support for the Cornell community. For direct supervision and reporting structures, these teams are called the Central Information Technology organization and the Unit Information Technology Groups.

This collaborative model strengthens coordination, promotes the sharing of expertise, and enables consistent, high-quality technology experiences while preserving strong partnerships with the colleges, schools, and units they serve.

The Information Technology teams across Cornell collaborate through shared governance, strategic partnerships, communities of practice, and cross-functional teams. Together, they leverage collective expertise to advance Cornell's mission and respond to evolving technology needs.

Weill Cornell Medicine is served by Information Technologies and Services (ITS), under the leadership of Chief Information Officer Vinay Varughese.

Chief Global Chief Information Officer Curtis Cole leads institutional strategy and policy for digital technology capabilities for all university campuses, including Ithaca, Cornell Tech in New York City, Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City and Qatar, Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York, and off-campus sites around the world.

History of Computing at Cornell

John Rudan's book, The History of Computing at Cornell, describes the development of computing at Cornell, from the earliest punchcard tabulating equipment used in the 1920s to the establishment of the Supercomputing Center in the late 1980s and subsequent activities in the 1990s.

To read the original interviews that John Rudan conducted, see the Oral and Personal Histories of Computing at Cornell at the Internet Archive. Select Stories from the menu on the archived page.