Ilee Rhimes
Vice Provost for Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer
Ilee Rhimes serves as chief information officer and vice provost for information technology services. In this role, he advances the federated model recommended by the Provost-Senate Faculty Committee for Information Services and endorsed by deans and university administration. Following this model, the central IT organization provides essential university-wide services, such as the core network, telephone service, and e-mail, and the units are empowered to acquire and develop the IT services necessary to meet their unique needs.
Rhimes also oversees the continued implementation of key infrastructure initiatives, including wired and wireless networking, videoconferencing, and multimedia classrooms on both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses. He is also completing the move into new facilities for USC’s world-class Center for High-Performance Computing and Communications.
Rhimes came to USC in February 2007 from The Ohio State University, where he served as the chief information officer since November 2000. In this capacity, he was responsible for the enterprise-wide deployment of information technologies in support of teaching, learning, research, and administration. He oversaw the offices of information technology; technology enhanced learning and research; project management services; emerging technologies; and cybersecurity.
Rhimes arrived at USC with over 35 years of information technology and finance experience in the public and private sectors. More than 25 of those years were in higher education, including over 11 years in technology leadership roles at Miami University and Kent State University in Ohio. In addition to his appointment as CIO at Kent State University, Rhimes served for two years as interim vice president for business and finance.
In the private sector, Rhimes served as assistant vice president for methods and operations for a financial services firm and as director of consulting services for a technology consulting firm, both in the Chicago area. He is active in Higher Education IT professional organizations, serves on several IT advisory committees and boards, and has presented at many conferences on a variety of IT strategic planning and leadership topics. He is widely-regarded as a leader in his field, and his talks draw on his vast experience in information technology services.
Rhimes earned his B.A. from Governors State University and his M.B.A. from Miami University. He also has earned certificates from numerous professional development programs, including the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) executive leadership program.