Adrian Dillon (SVC 1978-83) recently retired from the University of Tasmania (UTAS) where he had been a key player in the digital transformation of the University since commencing in 1998.
Prior to his employment with UTAS, Adrian worked in both the private sector and Tasmanian Government, first getting into IT in the late 1980s.
In 1999 he embarked on further studies and gained a degree in Information Systems (BIS) whilst working at UTAS.
Prior to retirement Adrian held the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) at UTAS and also held the positions of Deputy CIO and 2IC for a decade before that. More recently, he also served on the Board of the Australian Access Federation (AAF).
Over that period, Adrian both developed and led the implementation of a digital transformation strategy encompassing, learning and teaching, digital research, administrative, cyber security and enabling systems and services. The ability to augment existing digital infrastructure and rapidly deploy new services was fundamental during the recent pandemic to ensuring the University was able to operate and stay connected with its students and partners globally.
To quote from an article by Kate Weber in the iTnews, “He said he garnered ‘a sense of satisfaction’ that the university had ‘fundamentally shifted the dial’ through ‘the myriad of initiatives we turned around in a very short timeframe’ between February and March 2020.”
“This ensured the university ‘could continue to deliver its core services of teaching and research with minimal impact – which coincidentally led to a Vice-Chancellors award to the entire section for outstanding contribution in response to Covid-19, in December 2020’.”
Adrian leaves the University having been awarded the University Distinguished Service medal in December 2022, only the second professional services staff member to receive the award. He was also presented with a Meritorious Service award from the Council of Australasian Directors of IT (CAUDIT) for his broader contributions within the Higher Education sector over two decades.
Adrian is also a current member of the CAUDIT Leadership Institute faculty. The seven member faculty leads an annual intense week long program which aims to nurture higher education and research professionals to be the leaders the sector needs most - high performing, strategic and innovative.
Weber quoted Adrian as saying, “I don’t intend to stop completely [but] rather add value where I can by mentoring and coaching tomorrow's IT leaders both within and outside the sector."
Another outstanding OV story. Happy retirement, Adrian
