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Fred Ryan Retires After 24 Years

Vsego khoroshego, Fred Ryan*

Fred Ryan, vice provost for Information Resources and chief information officer, came to CSU, Chico in March 1977. At that time, the university was simpler, with fewer people, fewer cars, fewer buildings. There were no computers on staff or faculty desks; computers were room-sized machines that dealt with registration and grades. There was no e-mail, no voice mail, no need to train personnel on word processing, and distance education was in its early stages. The card catalog in the library held cards, and faculty used overhead projectors and slide shows if they wanted multimedia.

Much has changed since Ryan began as director of Technical Services in the library, called at that time the Learning Activities Resource Center. When he retires May 1, his tenure will have taken him through an era unmatched in the number and complexity of changes in the way the university does business.

Ryan has worked on a number of the activities, such as the country's first complete university library online catalog, which helped create the foundation for Chico's move into the information age and its leadership in technology. He has been involved with almost all the major university advancements in technology, including distance education, network development, introduction of the World Wide Web, faculty computing initiatives, education and training programs, integration of technology into the curriculum, and entrepreneurial efforts. He recently received the CSU's Wang Family Excellence Award for administrative performance.

Looking back, Ryan remarked that he has seen changes in every piece of the organization. "The technology world changes so fast that to develop services in that context is difficult and challenging," he noted. "But it has been exciting, and I am confident that the university will be very well served by the staff and leadership of Information Resources in the future."

Bill Post, who has worked with Ryan since 1978, said, "Fred has had a profound impact on the development of Information Resources at CSU, Chico. His leadership in the library and then across all Information Resources transformed how Information Resources delivered services to the campus. His personal style of fairness and professionalism has been a wonderful model for the staff."

As of April 1, Fred Ryan has begun his preparation for the challenge of teaching and living in Russia. For the next couple of years, Ryan will teach management and marketing, and his wife, Sally, will teach English in Russia.

"This has been a lifelong interest for me," Ryan explained. "I have been to Russia many times, and I find its history, culture, and literature fascinating. They have a very poor standard of living by our way of thinking, and it is amazing to see the way they are able to cope given their history of monumental problems."

Ryan appreciates the Russians' strong sense of family and community and the way they take care of each other. "The Russian people have very little, but they are very generous and will give you what they have."

Ryan officially retires May 1 but began taking vacation in April. Bill Post has taken over the duties as interim vice provost of Information Resources.

Vicki Breeden, Information Resources