Sean Moriarty Receives Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service

Sean Moriarty

Campus Technology Services is proud to announce that our Chief Technology Officer, Sean Moriarty, has received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service.

Moriarty received praise for his outstanding leadership in technology development to support the college’s instructional mission since joining Oswego in 2013 as chief technology officer (CTO). In leading Campus Technology Services (CTS), he has deployed software solutions for all areas of the college, ensuring the reliability and security of campus networks, supporting effective instructional technologies and advancing digital accessibility – while prioritizing the end-users of technology in all areas of college operations.

“The position of Chief Technology Officer is extremely critical for a university and takes on many roles serving faculty, students and staff,” Furlong wrote. “Having a critical understanding of the diverse needs of these users cannot be understated, and Sean has such a grasp and works equally well with stakeholders from all areas . . . Sean engages with the needs of the campus and its personnel and works diligently to find effective and efficient solutions.”

CTO is a position that involves managing technology but with a deft and inclusive human touch, wrote Rebecca Mushtare, associate dean of graduate studies, who also is an art faculty member and former accessibility fellow. 

“Sean’s primary role as a leader and as an administrator is to take the time to listen, bring the right people to the table to work together on solutions, and then be at the ready to find and advocate for the resources necessary to make this work happen,” Mushtare noted. 

“Sean has a superb understanding of the role that technology plays in supporting all aspects of the college mission, and he has been very effective in nurturing a shared sense of this mission throughout the CTS organization,” wrote John Kane, who directs the college’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and is long-time member of the Campus Technology Advisory Board and economics faculty member.

Furlong also noted that Moriarty has elevated Oswego’s status in planning and technological infrastructure to the point that colleagues throughout SUNY, including SUNY’s administration, seek his advice and help. 

Moriarty served as vice-chair and chair of the SUNY Council of Chief Information Officers from 2016 to 2020, and for numerous other SUNY and national Educause committees. In 2020, Morirarty was recognized with the SUNY Council of CIOs Collaboration Award.

Nominators also praised Moriarty’s work in leading the charge on web accessibility to meet both the requirements and the honest responsibility of ensuring that technology supports all audiences in a fair way. 

“Not interested in just meeting the requirements, he also worked to create a Faculty Accessibility Fellows program that would begin the process of developing faculty in this space and creating champions for the entire campus,” Furlong wrote. “Now in its third year, the Fellows program has been very successful in sharing information regarding the accessibility of the web and other electronic materials. This was particularly important as the entire campus had to engage in more online teaching due to the pandemic.”

During the pandemic, and most notably with the quick pivot to remote instruction in March 2020, Moriarty succeeded in demonstrating institutional flexibility and developing creative, innovative solutions in short periods of time. To prioritize students and educational needs, he worked with CTS staff to offer just-in-time professional development with workshops on educational technology for recording, video conferencing and handling electronic documents and assignments. Moriarty also worked to find hardware and technological solutions for students who suddenly had to maintain their college coursework from home.

Moriarty earned a master of business administration, bachelor of commerce and bachelor of science in math and computer science, all from the University of Windsor.