IT Federation Program

The IT Federation program will strengthen how IT teams across the university work together, creating more opportunities to share expertise, align priorities and resources, and support each other more effectively.

IT Federation is part of UW–‍Madison’s broader Operational Excellence effort to continuously improve coordination and efficiency; consistency and customer service; transparency; and stewardship across administrative and technology services.

Our university, like all of higher education, is facing growing financial pressures; increased accountability expectations; rising cybersecurity and compliance demands; and rapid technological change, including artificial intelligence.

IT teams across the university are already rising to meet these challenges every day. IT Federation is designed to build on that momentum. By working together in more intentional and coordinated ways, we can move from a reactive posture to a proactive one — empowering our staff to tackle these complexities with greater collective strength.

What is a federated IT model?

A federated IT model brings together IT teams from across the university to work as partners: providers will collaborate on coordinated services and shared standards where they provide value, while local teams maintain appropriate flexibility to serve the unique needs of their communities.

While we’ve operated this way informally for years, the changes facing our university create an opportunity to be proactive and strengthen this partnership.

Federation in action

IT providers

Balanced service delivery, with some services delivered at an enterprise scale and others delivered locally.
New shared standards and coordination mechanisms to help us continue to cultivate strong partnerships and collaborations across service providers.
Enhanced collaboration pathways between IT staff across the university, creating more opportunities for shared learning, knowledge sharing and partnership.

University mission

Focus resources and expertise where they have the greatest impact in support of teaching, research, outreach and administrative missions.
Improve consistency in service experiences and reduce unnecessary complexity, while allowing flexibility and local expertise where mission needs require it.
Strategic resource management to ensure good stewardship of university resources and financial sustainability for the long term.

Timeline

January 2026

Phase 1 begins. Benchmarking and Enterprise Services Work Groups start meeting.

April 2026

Phase 1 ends. Work groups share findings and recommendations.

May to June 2026

Phase 1 reflections. Phase 2 planning.

July 2026 (tentative)

Phase 2 begins.

Meet the program team

This effort extends beyond the Division of Information Technology and requires collaboration across technology service and resource providers. IT staff from across the university are represented in the working groups and program teams.

Project sponsors

Role	Name	Title
Executive sponsor	John Zumbrunnen	Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Executive sponsor	Rob Cramer	Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration
Program sponsor	Didier Contis	Vice Provost for Information Technology & Chief Information Officer

Benchmarking Work Group

This work group will organize existing data to gain a better cross-university understanding of software, hardware, infrastructure and salary spending. This group will also organize selected industry benchmarks, identify potential optimization opportunities, and support the Enterprise Services Work Group in developing funding options for proposed services.

Role	Name	Title
Team member	Catharine DeRubeis	Office of Human Resources Representative
Team member	Colleen Reilly	Campus Purchasing Representative, DoIT
Team co-lead	Dave Pagenkopf	Deputy Chief Information Officer, DoIT
Team member	Haley Bergsten	Strategic Initiatives Analyst, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration
Team member	Jenny Kvistad	Chief Adviser to the Deputy Chief Information Office, DoIT
Team member	Matt Prough	IT Director, College of Letters & Science, Distributed IT representative
Team member	Noah Natzke	Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research Representative
Team co-lead	Sarah Hart McGuinnis	Chief Financial Officer, DoIT
Team member	Suzanne Schlecht	Madison Budget Office Representative
Team member	Salima Currimbhoy	Administrative Innovation and Planning Representative
Consulting partner	Lori Voss	Procurement Director, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration
Consulting partner	Patrick Stensloff	Assistant Director of Purchasing Services, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration
Consulting partner	Additional Business Services partners

Enterprise Services Work Group

This work group will propose three to five new or improved common enterprise services, along with requirements for managing, supporting and operating each service. This group is also piloting new collaborative decision-making approaches that engage both distributed and central IT leaders.

Role	Name	Title
Team member	Anand Vangipuram	Director, DoIT Enterprise Business Systems
Team member	Deanna Schneider	Director, Office of Digital Solutions, Division of Extension
Team member	Jamie Gutkowski	Director, DoIT User Services
Team member	Jeff Korab	Senior Director of IT, School of Medicine & Public Health
Facilitator	Kelvin Alfaro	Internal Consultant, Office of Strategic Consulting
Team member	Mark Wegener	IT Director, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
Team member	Pete Boguszewski	Chief Information Officer, School of Education
Team member	Sean Bossinger	Chief Information Officer, UW School of Veterinary Medicine and UW Veterinary Medical Center
Team member	Tadd Smejkal	Director, DoIT Systems Engineering & Operations
Team member	Tamara Walker	Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies & Director, DoIT Academic Technology
Team member	Todd Shechter	Chief Technology Officer, DoIT

Phase 1 Program Launch team

This team organizes and drives the program launch process, incorporating consultation and feedback from campus stakeholders.

Role	Name	Title
Team member	Bobby Jo Morse	Director, DoIT Portfolio & Project Management Office
Program leader	Jamie Gutkowski	Director, DoIT User Services
Team member	Jenny Kvistad	Chief Adviser to the Deputy Chief Information Officer, DoIT
Team member	Lauren Bruce	Interim Director, DoIT Communications
Team member	Todd Shechter	Chief Technology Officer, DoIT

Program Support team

This team brings clarity and structure to the program through engagement, communication and change management efforts. They support the Enterprise and Benchmarking work groups and find opportunities for the IT community to engage in program activities.

Role	Name	Title
Communications	Brianna Kuhn	Communications Specialist, DoIT Communications
Team member	Ching-Tzu Chien	Senior IT Project Manager, DoIT Portfolio & Project Management Office
Organizational Change Manager	Crague Cook	Organizational Change Manager, DoIT Portfolio & Project Management Office
Program manager	Dana Green	IT Program Manager, University Health Services
Business Analyst	Jeanette School	Senior Business Analyst, DoIT Portfolio & Project Management Office
Facilitator	Kelvin Alfaro	Internal Consultant, Office of Strategic Consulting

Updates

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