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Chatting With Mville CIO, Steve Handfinger
Where are you from Steve?

I was born, raised and educated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I'm a product of the Philadelphia public school system and attended Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania and Pierce College.

HandfingerSteve 216x275I started college as an accounting major and after two years realized I wasn't going to be happy sitting behind a desk doing number crunching. So I switched to computer science and focused on programming and computer operations.

What was your first job after college?

I was a third shift computer operator at the Central Pennsylvania National Bank. I think I made $125 a week. I taught myself programming while I was working at the bank.

How did you end up at Manhattanville College?

I've worked in managed services for higher education providers for over 30 years working my way up from jobs in computer operations to CIO. It's a small world of higher ed technology experts. Over the course of my career at Sunguard Higher Ed, Collegis, and SCT (Systems & Computer Technology), I was fortunate to work with some of the same people who splintered off to start Dynamic Campus. When former CIO Dan Bonine accepted a new position at Dynamic Campus, I was contacted and asked if I'd like to be CIO at Manhattanville. It was a natural fit. The college staff is friendly and great to work with and the campus and environs are beautiful.

What was the biggest change you've seen over your career in higher ed technology?

The invention of the PC put desktop computing into the hands of the user community.

What goals do you have for the college?

My main goals are to promote teamwork and improve customer service between users and IT staff;
to make sure the college is fully utilizing the hardware and software that it's purchased, like Datatel; and to implement new technology solutions to assist faculty, staff and students. This past year Manhattanville has finally become a wireless campus. An Intranet, a secured area for college staff, faculty and students to store data, is on the drawing board as we speak.

What's your favorite gadget?

My iPhone 4S and my favorite app is Facetime. My wife took my iPad so now I can Facetime with her and the grandkids regularly.

Do you have any hobbies?

Being with my four grandchildren is the highlight of any day for me. I also like golfing and bowling, but don't ask me to tell you my average handicap for either.

What advice would you give to a computer science major who aspires to become a CIO?

Stay open-minded and be flexible so that you can adjust to constant change; there'll be plenty of change in any computer scientist's future.