New Education CIO aims to foster collaborative efforts

New Education CIO aims to foster collaborative efforts

• Dec 10, 1999

By Frank Tiboni
GCN Staff

Education CIO Craig Luigart says one of his goals will be improving his office's services to users.

The Education Department's new chief information officer wants to take a strategic look at integrating the department's systems.

'We want to align a lot of the systems so that they work toward a more departmentwide view,' said Craig B. Luigart, a former Navy commander and corporate information management executive.

Luigart became CIO last month, replacing Don Rappaport, who left the post in April. Thomas Skelly, director of Education's Budget Service, had been the acting CIO.

Luigart said that one of his first priorities will be tracking the progress of the Office of Student Financial Assistance's $300 million modernization of Education's student loan systems.

'By sitting on the Investment Resource Board, I'll have a degree of oversight, so I can pull an issue if I see something I don't agree with,' Luigart said. 'However, I want to take a more collaborative view with OSFA's new systems so that they work in the direction Education is going.'

CIO Council honors work force team The Chief Information Officers Council's Information Technology Work Force Committee recently held a ceremony to recognize federal employees who contributed to the committee's report on IT work force issues [GCN, July 5, Page 1]. Thirty-nine people worked on the report, which included 13 recommendations. some have already been enacted, including the creation of a CIO University. Mike Alexander, Agriculture Department Annie Barr, General Services Administration Kathy Boyd, IRS Kelly Carnes, Commerce Department Helen Chamberlain, Office of Personnel Management James Coleman, IRS Bill Cooley, GSA Carol Coronado, GSA Marc Cummings, Commerce Karen Danis, Navy Debbie Diffee, IRS Monica Doyle, Treasury Department David Dunlap, Health and Human Services Department Mae Ellis-Covell, Commerce James J. Flyzik, Treasury Dagne Fulcher,IRS Dottie Hawkins, USDA Michele Heffner, GSA Ira Hobbs, USDA Tom Horan, GSA Ed Johnson, Justice Department Keith Kearney, Treasury Carole Lieber, Treasury Mary Lou Lindholm, OPM Carol Ann Meares, GSA Emory Miller, GSA Meg Offit-Gold, USDA Gloria Parker, Housing and Urban Development Department Gordon Rice, IRS Henry Romero, OPM John Sargent, Commerce Joan Steyaert, GSA Glenn Sutton, retired, OPM Linda Tague, Education Department Fred Thompson, Treasury Adriane Thormahlen, IRS Linda Wallace, IRS Terry Weaver, GSA Pat Williams, IRS

Super service

Besides keeping an eye on OSFA's modernization, Luigart said he would strive to improve his office's services.

'Craig is a nationally recognized, award-winning information management professional,' Education Secretary Richard W. Riley said.

'We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber guiding our operations into the 21st century,' he said.

Before taking the Education CIO post, Luigart was chief technology officer for Just Medicine Inc. of Norcross, Ga., where he helped develop mobile technologies.

His own health problems drew him to the job after he retired in 1996 from the Navy after 20 years in the service.

Luigart has primary lateral sclerosis, a rare neurological disorder that affects his legs. He said he believes he contracted the disease while delivering aircraft to Pakistan for the Navy Aircraft Program.

From 1994 to 1996, Luigart was program manager for the Navy's Information Network Program Office. During that time, he also was CIO for the Washington region and oversaw the service's metropolitan area network.

From 1990 to 1994, Luigart was CIO for the Naval Air Systems Command, supervising 38,000 employees.

The former naval aviator and aerospace engineering officer has a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Louisville in Kentucky and a master's degree in information systems from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.