Pentagon CIO Grimes salutes IRM College
Foreign defense ministers, current and former government chief
information officers, and other alumni from the Information
Resources Management College gathered over the weekend to pay
tribute to the college's achievements'and those of its
graduates'over the past 20 years.
John Grimes, assistant secretary of defense for networks and
information integration and the Defense Department's chief
information officer, was among those who saluted the college during
a 20th anniversary dinner attended by more than 400 guests at the
Gaylord National Resort on the Potomac River on Saturday
evening.
'Most people don't appreciate the criticality of
education in IT,' Grimes said.
He noted the importance of training leaders in information
management, recalling his five years on the White House National
Security Council Staff, beginning in 1984 and the impact 'the
CNN effect' had on policy leaders then. It was a time when
news of world events began to be delivered routinely in real time
-- and often ahead of intelligence reports. 'It changed the
thrust of decision-making,' placing new importance on the
flow of information, he said.
He credited the IRM College's efforts not only with
developing information leaders domestically but also in the defense
ministries of many foreign allies.
Dr. Robert Childs, IRM College senior director, used the
occasion to recognize the college's faculty for developing
programs for CIOs, and on information assurance, IT project
management and enterprise architecture. He cited some of the
influential individuals who helped guide the college's vision
over the years. Among them: Alvin Toffler, author of 'Future
Shock,' who was among the evening's dinner guests,
Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, and Oracle co-founder Larry
Ellison.
Joining in the salute to the college were Elizabeth Liddy, dean
of the School of Information Studies, at Syracuse University, which
partners with the college; Natalie Lui-Duncan, counselor to the
Director, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Homeland
Security Department; and Miriam Browning, a former U.S. Army senior
executive and now president of Browning Consulting.
Since its founding, the IRM College has served as the federal
government's primary education provider for
information-driven initiatives, and has become the largest
component of National Defense University, located at Fort Lesley J.
McNair in Washington, D.C. Its students are primarily middle and
senior-level managers with information resource management
responsibilities
Among its most recent initiatives are the Federal Consortium for
Virtual Worlds and efforts to expand its Information Assurance
laboratories to include simulations, gaming and crisis management
capabilities.
About the Author
Wyatt Kash is editor in chief for Government Computer News.