By NPS Public Affairs

Select senior information technology, financial and library leadership from the Navy's educational institutions are pictured during the latest gathering of the Navy Higher Education Information Technology Consortium. The group meets annually to seek opportunities for potential collaboration among the Navy's educational institutions.

"As key mission enablers of the three Schools, the information technology, library, comptroller and contracting leadership teams came together to determine ways in which efficiencies and economies of scale could be realized with shared services," noted NPS Deputy Chief Information Officer Chris Gaucher. "This included sharing of software license costs, standardizing on reference material repositories, and leveraging one another's contracting and logistics management services."

In a diversion from its usual mode of operations, the NHEITC was directed on an expanded course this year. Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michelle Howard, Chair of the Navy's Advanced Education Review Board, requested Navy university IT leadership be joined by senior representatives of each institution's library, comptroller and contracting offices. According to NPS IT leaders, the inclusive approach served as a catalyst for a cross-functional team to address IT opportunities at the schools.

"Ultimately, these efforts will reduce taxpayer costs and increase the quality of support services that are delivered to each of the school's students, staff and faculty," stressed Gaucher.