Melody Riley will join University of Oregon’s Information Services on Sept. 21, 2020, as the associate chief information officer for applications and middleware. Riley comes to the UO from Oregon State University, where she served as director of customer relationship management. Previously, she worked for the State of Oregon. Riley brings 25 years of progressive experience working in large, complex organizations with diverse programs, where she focused on technology-enabled business innovation. She achieves this innovation by incorporating customer needs and great service delivery into strategy, architecture and planning.

“Melody brings great experience working at the intersection of technology and people. I’m very excited to have her join the team,” said Jessie Minton, vice provost for information services and chief information officer. “I believe Melody will be instrumental in advancing the technology services that enable academics, research and administrative operations at the University of Oregon.”

As the associate chief information officer for applications and middleware, Riley will develop technology strategy for the university’s enterprise teaching and business applications in coordination with campus stakeholders. She will also have operational responsibility for the applications services, data management, identity and directory services and middleware and application development teams in Information Services, which operates many of the university’s applications including Canvas, Banner, Zoom, CRM and Office 365.

“I look forward to working together to optimize the use of digital solutions to transform operations and delivery of the university’s mission by capturing the right data, leveraging information and applying the knowledge to provide improved service delivery,” Riley said. “Even in these challenging times, with caring and talented people, we can optimize the right technologies and also address the needs of people.”

Riley also said she was encouraged to accept the role by the friendly, participatory conversations during her interview process. 

“After spending the day in virtual meetings with faculty, staff and leadership, I was even more excited about joining the UO. Everyone was welcoming and engaging in the discussions,” she said. “I feel like my experiences throughout my career have led me to this opportunity.”

Riley served in several positions during her 18-year career with Oregon state agencies, including chief technology officer and enterprise alignment director in the Office of the State CIO, director of enterprise alignment with Oregon Health Authority, and director of customer services and support with Oregon Health Authority, where she led a team of more than 100 employees.

Riley received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Computer Science from Western Oregon University.