Allen Among Several Named IT Executive of the Year

Jon Allen, chief information officer and chief information security officer at Baylor University, has been honored by the inaugural EdScoop 50 Awards as one of select higher education executives named IT Executive of the Year. The award honors "the most influential people in the higher education technology community, along with the most innovative projects that make a positive impact across universities."

Allen is being recognized for his leadership in developing the Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT), which provides a standard metrics product used to evaluate the cybersecurity capabilities of technology products, including such factors as application security, policies and systems management. This assessment is now used across higher education, helping institutions save both time and money by streamlining the procurement process, and is being adopted in the private sector. Allen also was noted for his involvement with Internet2's NET+ Cloud Scorecard project, the NET+ Splunk project and his contributions to the EDUCAUSE Higher Education Information Security Council.

Allen continues to chair the EDUCAUSE HECVAT Committee, which continues to develop the offerings in the toolkit to meet the evolving cybersecurity landscape. He serves on the Paciolan Steering Committee and was recently part of the group that determined the 2023 Top 10 IT Issues for EDUCAUSE. Allen is frequently featured in Oracle sessions, where he provides perspective to leaders in higher education and other sectors on leveraging technologies to evolve administrative processes for higher quality resource management and operational efficiencies.

This year’s winners of the EdScoop 40 Awards represent 40 institutions, two university systems, seven private sector companies and one professional organization. From large public universities to community colleges, the awards recognize people and projects at several different sizes and geographically across the entire country.

“The EdScoop 50 Awards are all about recognizing the higher education community in a new way,” said Jake Williams, vice president of content and community of StateScoop and EdScoop. “Institutions have been forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and these awards recognize the class of leaders who lead that change and are charting the path forward for universities.”

Baylor Information Technology Services partners with Baylor administration, faculty, staff and students across the University to create innovative solutions, provide technical support, sustain a rich technology infrastructure and foster a secure environment that empowers Baylor to accomplish its mission.

EdScoop is a media brand that connects IT leaders in higher education through its online assets, newsletters, events and recognition programs.