June 14, 2019
Earlier this month, the Society of Information Management (SIM) Chicago Chapter, the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) Chicago Chapter, and The Executives’ Club of Chicago awarded Wheaton College CIO Wendy Woodward the CIO+ award for her outstanding job as she expanded her professional role into other business areas.
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The Society of Information Management (SIM) Chicago Chapter, the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) Chicago Chapter, and The Executives’ Club of Chicago awarded Wheaton College’s Chief Information & Campus Services Officer Wendy Woodward the 2019 CIO+ Award at a downtown Chicago ceremony on June 5. She was selected from a nominee pool including colleagues from city government, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services.
The SIM Chicago CIO+ Award recognizes a CIO who has successfully expanded his or her current role into other business areas like Operations, Marketing, Sales, CEO role, etc., thus broadening their impact on driving success for the overall business entity.
“I’m still in shock,” Woodward said. “It’s an amazing honor, and it’s humbling to have been considered along with such industry leaders.”
In her acceptance speech, she told the crowd, “This award is only possible because of my excellent team at Wheaton College.”
In addition to her role as CIO at the College, last year Woodward also assumed the role as Campus Services Officer, in which she assumed responsibility for housing, dining services, the bookstore, event services, and postal services. She was able to extend her abilities to identify efficiencies while enhancing customer service into the additional area of responsibility. “In general, my job is to facilitate communication and collaboration and keep the strategic vision at the forefront,” she said.
Woodward graduated from North Park College with a degree in organizational administration and Northwestern University with a Master’s of Science degree in Communications Systems Strategy and Management. She joined Wheaton College in 2015, after 16 years working as the director of technology support services at Northwestern University.
Woodward said that she has never had a team like the one she has at Wheaton College.
“People are here to serve Christ and His Kingdom, they are mission-driven, they care about providing excellent service to our students, faculty, and staff through their daily work,” Woodward said. “What this award shows me is that the work we are doing is on target. The recognition from our peers tells us, ‘you guys are doing it right.’”—Emily Bratcher