Joseph F. Sawasky Selected as Merit President and Chief Executive Officer
August 17, 2015
For
Immediate Release
Joseph Sawasky, currently Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President, Computing and Information Technology at Wayne State University, has been selected as the President and CEO of Merit Network, Inc. Prior to joining Wayne State, Mr. Sawasky was
the Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President for Information Technology for the University of Toledo and University of Toledo Medical Center. His selection was announced today by Dr. Walter Milligan, Chief Information Officer at Michigan Technological
University and Chair of the Search Committee, and a member of Merit’s Board of Directors.
Per Dr. Milligan, “I am very pleased that Joe Sawasky has agreed to accept the position of President and CEO of Merit Network, Inc. Joe has a combination of experience and vision perfectly suited to lead Merit during a time of rapid change. The search process
identified several excellent candidates for the position, however, Joe was clearly the most outstanding candidate.”
Mr. Sawasky’s appointment, which was recommended by a search committee consisting of members of Merit's Board of Directors and Merit staff, was unanimously approved by Merit's Board of Directors on July 31, 2015. Mr. Sawasky will join Merit on August 31, 2015.
"I am thrilled to become part of Merit and continue their great tradition of connecting and growing the community of organizations serving society in Michigan and beyond,” said Mr. Sawasky. “Merit is the nation’s
original research and education network, and it has both a celebrated past and the advanced technology expertise to help drive Michigan forward in the 21st century. High performance networking, digital community building and advanced cyber security services
are all part of their portfolio -- and these services are all essential elements for a thriving digital community. I am looking forward to working with the fantastic team at Merit, and serving the unique technology needs of their member organizations that
are striving to make Michigan a preeminent place to live, learn and work."
Mr. Sawasky brings to Merit extensive IT leadership experience, spanning higher education, healthcare and manufacturing. He is currently the Chair of Merit’s Board of Directors, and an active member of the Merit Services Innovation Group
and Security Summit Planning Committee. During nearly 22 years with the University of Toledo, Mr. Sawasky focused on IT strategic planning, organizational leadership, project portfolio management, and customer satisfaction/quality programs. During his time
at Wayne State, Mr. Sawasky and his IT organization transformed technology services for the campus – consolidating and modernizing IT, improving the customer experience, and developing noted innovations. They also received national recognition for innovative
software solutions, including Academica-ESP, a new enterprise social portal service designed to facilitate and encourage real-time collaboration between students, faculty and staff.
About Merit
Merit Network Inc., is a non-profit corporation owned and governed by Michigan's public universities. Merit owns and operates America's longest-running regional research and education network. In 1966, Michigan's public universities created
Merit as a shared resource to help meet their common need for networking assistance. Since its formation, Merit Network has remained on the forefront of research and education networking expertise and services. Merit provides high-performance networking and
IT solutions to Michigan's public universities, colleges, K-12 organizations, libraries, state government, healthcare, and other non-profit organizations.
For more information, please visit www.merit.edu.
For press/media contact:
Elwood Downing
Merit Network, Inc.
Phone: (734)527-5702
Email:
