The Promise of the Future award recognizes rising IT leaders at IU. A steady stream of future leaders is imperative to a strong, healthy IT organization, as such it is important to recognize and highlight future leaders in IT. The ITLC would like to recognize our rising IT leaders. Eligible candidates will be newer an IT position at IU. Ideal candidates will be able to document significant professional accomplishments with a sustained, positive impact on IU; be actively involved within the IU community; demonstrate leadership qualities in the workplace and IT community; and demonstrate innovation, growth, and impact of contributions beyond their current role.

"Leila helps us see the big picture. Whenever she sees problems in process or approach, she isn’t afraid to bring them up. And she’s got the skillset to help solve them. She has spearheaded our onboarding processes, which is integral to our team’s success as we grow to meet President Whitten’s IU2030 plan pillars. And when she succeeds, she brings others along with her. She is always ready to succession plan, helping others learn new skills, and she represents our team in presentations to other IU partners. "

2022 - Justin Robinson

2020 - Carl James

Working with The College IT Office Zone Four (CITO) as Manager of Tier1 Operations for a little over one year, Carl has improved upon or created new internal processes to expedite workflows. Carl always demonstrates an excellent work ethic, dynamic leadership skills, clear and concise communications as well as superb customer service while maintaining a high degree of professionalism and decorum. Carl routinely performs above and beyond the call of duty to ensure our client’s IT support needs are met by listening intently for clues to customer frustrations with technology and devising creative solutions to uncommon problems. As IU shifted most operations to off-campus, Carl was instrumental in coordinating work needed on-campus while managing a team of remote tech support personnel. We are most thankful for Carl’s pleasant demeanor, superb leadership ability and attention to detail. Carl conducts team meetings with authority, compassion and understanding, helping to build and maintain a cohesive team.

2020 - Beth Moellers

Beth has served as a tireless champion of proper communication, detail-oriented mailings, info shares, and migration coffee hours throughout the very complex and ever-changing Box Migration this past year. Her attention to detail, clever turns of phrase, and new ideas to broaden outreach have made this process much smoother than it ever could have possibly been otherwise.

Working as senior project manager, Beth excels within all categories of the award: Professional Accomplishments, Community Involvement, Leadership, Professional Growth and Innovation. Beth is an outstanding employee, colleague and project manager. 

Aaron is hard working and persistent in his approach to helping our clients and his colleagues. Aaron is always willing to give of himself so others can succeed -- a consummate professional and always working to improve. Late last year, Aaron stepped in to lead our CAITS Systems Infrastructure team without hesitation, when the permanent manager of that team departed somewhat unexpectedly. Aaron’s leadership through this period of uncertainty, was invaluable. Aaron kept the team together and kept everyone moving forward, together.

Gagan has shown the professional and personal traits that exemplify a rising leader. He has has taken the lead in learning new and emerging technologies and has shared that knowledge with his HRMS team for their benefit. While he is self motivated to explore new technologies, he has also matured greatly over his four years with the team and has become someone that can be relied upon to seek out sustainable solutions even if it's not the bleeding edge option. Gagan is also just as concerned about the growth of his team as he is about his own professional growth and journey as a leader.

2017 - Emily Hunt

Emily Hunt, has shown the professional and personal traits that exemplify a rising leader. To quote some of her colleagues:

"Emily has exhibited leadership as a consultant inspiring everyone in her area to get involved in improving documentation and procedures. The leadership she exhibited as the Mission Critical and E-Learning Coordinator has cultivated a fresh morale and sense of purpose for Mission Critical. And the leadership she exhibited as the SharePoint Transition project manager brought the many complex parts of the project into focus and enabled them to find adequate and timely replacements for various needs."

"Twice she has been asked to take a leadership role over a team that was recently restructured and taking on more work. In each situation, she has made significant progress in encouraging the teams to collaborate and get out of their comfort zones, while gaining the respect of more senior, established team members."