PULLMAN—Viji Murali, WSU vice president for Information Services and chief information officer, is one of the “Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2009” selected by the magazine Computerworld in its Dec. 8 issue. Computerworld honors the 100 IT executives who have led their organizations by “testing new technologies, executing new strategies and trying on new roles.”
“It is a great achievement that the work done at WSU is recognized nationally by my peers and leading professionals in IT,” Murali said.
Murali is described by the magazine as “an original, if not contrarian, thinker — and a bit of a speed demon.”
“I like for things to happen fast,” she said.
Ranging in age from 34 to 62, the 78 men and 22 women who make up the Premier 100 list are considered collaborators and consolidators.
“They are environmental and social policy leaders at their organizations,” said the feature story in Computerworld. “They tend to ignore well-worn lines of demarcation between business and consumer technology … They deploy what works rather than what’s politically safe. But they’re also politically savvy when it comes to presenting their ideas and winning over top executives who may be more traditional.”
Murali’s accomplishments since her arrival at WSU in September 2007 include access to high-speed fiber optic bandwidth and the adaption to Proofpoint, an e-mail security system designed to protect users from spam and viruses. Some projects that are also being undertaken by Murali are a wireless campus network to be available in classrooms and in students’ common areas, an upgrade and redesign of the data center and technical upgrades in several classrooms across campus.
Regarding IT infrastructure, Murali said WSU is behind the times. “A top-notch research university like WSU needs all these upgrades,” she said. And she said she will continue with her plans with other upgrades across the university.
The 100 IT leaders were chosen from a list of 1,000 nominees from a wide range of companies across all industries, government and educational organizations. The 2009 Honorees will be recognized at Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, March 1-3, 2009 in Orlando, Fla.
The complete list of Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2009 and profiles for each member can be found online at http://www.computerworld.com/09/p100.
