IT Leadership Spotlight: Scott Patten, associate director, Information Technology Management

Note: Scott Patten was recently hired as associate director for the new UIT University Technology Management unit in the Chief Technology Officer organization.

Where are you from originally?

I’m originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, but my family moved to Connecticut when I entered high school. I returned to Ohio for college and right after graduating, I moved to Utah. I definitely consider Utah home. My kids and the grandparents have all been here a while.

What post-secondary degrees or certifications do you have, in what areas, and from which schools?

I earned my bachelor’s degree in business from Miami University in Ohio (Miami was a university before Florida was a state) with an emphasis in production and operations management and purchasing and procurement management.

What led you to the University of Utah?

I knew quite a few U employees over the years who always seemed to be working on interesting projects. When a spot on the UShop project opened up, I jumped at the chance to work at the university. I had no idea how different and fun it would be.

Can you describe the path you took to IT leadership?

My roles have always been a mix of IT and operations. In my early career, I gravitated to the technical side of manufacturing operations, focusing on enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and the IBM AS/400. Interestingly, that was with Research Medical Inc., one of Gary Crocker’s early successes. Yep, the Crocker Science Center, Crocker. Then, Linux emerged and I was hooked. It was rather common back then to build an internet presence and business infrastructure on Linux and open-source systems. That led to technical leadership roles in manufacturing, fulfillment, and logistics for Smith Optics.  

When the UShop project introduced higher education accounting and finance, I fell into a role managing the Accounts Payable department. I was pleasantly surprised at how operations- and systems-heavy that was; it involved creating, adapting, and implementing a number of platforms. Much to the chagrin of many, we moved off the classic paper-based processes and rolled out campus-wide electronic alternatives. It was difficult to separate people from paper forms. We lost a lot of friends at first but made the bulk of them back, and then some.

Eventually, I missed the more technical side, and I found an interesting and unique IT role in the Linux-centric Department of Mathematics, right when everything started to change within departmental IT organizations and IT security became very much front and center. Soon after, the Department of Mathematics IT merged with the Colleges and Schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). I am now working for Dean Keyek-Franssen to carefully align LAS IT with UIT.

How would you describe your leadership style and/or philosophy?

People are what matter. We came for the technology but stayed for the people. Trust is what makes an organization effective. Gathering input, listening, and then acting logically and consistently builds trust over time. It’s critical to set the tone and direction, and give people the tools and the space to do their jobs. We carefully build plans, knowing they will change. We constantly adapt. Although we gather lots of data, we focus on what matters. We do the hard things today to avoid the impossible things tomorrow.

What do you enjoy most about your role at the U?

The people. I have never worked anywhere with so many brilliant, interesting, and passionate people. It’s far too easy to get lost in all the amazing stories on campus.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

Balancing priorities. The U is big and we are accountable to so many laws, policies, rules, and norms. There are often conflicts and contradictions when balancing efficiency, flexibility, and control. It’s far too easy to break one thing while fixing another, which is why listening is so critical.

(Article continues below images.)

What are some of your hobbies?

I enjoy backcountry skiing, biking, and GIS (creating custom map layers with GDAL, aerial photography, and LiDAR).

Is there a fun fact about yourself that you’d like to share?

I was once a partner in one of the earliest internet service providers in Utah, Wasatch Communications Group. We weren’t well funded, or funded at all, but we figured out how to grow a small business and win over a modest but dedicated following. This was back before AOL sent CDs to everyone.

Is there anything else that you think our readers would like to know about you?

I’m a big fan of Australian shepherd dogs. My current backcountry travel companion is Jack. Jack really likes hiking, skiing, and biking adventures. He’s also a good listener. icon

 

Node 4 Search