Dear LMU Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that Tamara Armstrong will be LMU’s next vice president for Information Technology Services and chief information officer (CIO). She will join us Aug. 1, 2022.
VP Armstrong, who is currently associate vice chancellor and CIO for the Los Rios Community College District, is a dynamic leader and collaborator with a broad range of expertise in higher education information services that will ensure that LMU remains at the forefront of academic innovation and enterprise technologies. Through the search process, I learned of her passion for supporting our students and addressing the needs of our faculty and staff. She resonates with our university’s mission and our community’s values, and I am confident that she is the right leader to lead our talented ITS colleagues.
During her time at LRCCD, VP Armstrong was a bold and effective advocate for students, facilitating the use of technology to bolster student access and completion through the redesign of student experiences and the mitigation of digital equity issues. She was responsible for information technology strategy, security, programs, policy, and systems serving over 75,000 students, 6,000 faculty and staff, four colleges, and 22 facilities. VP Armstrong built robust relationships with leadership, students (both current and prospective), faculty, staff, alumni, academic senates, and unions to align and transform IT activities in support of college and districtwide goals.
Before working in higher education, VP Armstrong was deputy director with the California Department of Technology, providing consultation and direction to state executives, project sponsors, and project teams from 150+ independent state departments to implement IT initiatives. She oversaw a $4 billion IT project portfolio of the state’s largest, most complex projects, and she led the statewide functions of IT project management, procurement, project approval, and oversight in support of state departments. VP Armstrong has also served as executive director for the California statewide project management office; project director for California’s financial information system; a partner business executive with the State Controller’s Office; chief information security officer for the Department of Child Support Services; and project manager and IT manager for the State Teachers Retirement System.
VP Armstrong earned her MBA at National University and her B.S. in finance at CSU Sacramento. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, camping, hiking, traveling, dancing, game nights, ocean gazing, group Bible studies, and community service.
I thank our search committee, led by John Kiralla, senior vice president for Marketing, Communications, and External Relations, for conducting a thorough search process on an ambitious timeline. The committee’s professionalism and engagement provided me with valuable insights that aided my decision-making process and led to this outstanding addition to our senior leadership team. I also share my gratitude of Interim VP Jeff Solomon and the entire ITS team for their continued flexibility, support, and leadership during this transitionary period.
VP Armstrong has built her career on living her values of collaboration, integrity, stewardship, and service to create positive impact and opportunity for underserved communities. She has consistently advanced efforts to enable justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, both personally and professionally. As one of the few women BIPOC executives in the field, her perspective will also enhance LMU’s anti-racism commitments and initiatives.
Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Tamara and her family to our LMU Lion family.
Sincerely,
Lynne Scarboro
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
