Harriet Wasserman honored as 2005 Premier 100 IT Leader by Computerworld magazine
Seattle – Seattle Central Community College is pleased to announce that Harriet Wasserman, associate dean and director of Information Technology, has been recognized by Computerworld Magazine as one of the business world’s Premier 100 IT Leaders. The award honors executives who show exemplary technology leadership in resolving business problems. Honorees were named and profiled in the January 3 issue of Computerworld and will be honored again at a Premier 100 IT leaders conference in March.
Wasserman was selected from nearly 600 nominees, who were measured against Computerworld’s IT Leadership Index, a set of characteristics that describes executives who guide the effective use of IT in their organizations, and evaluated by the editors and by an external panel of outside judges. Other honorees include leading IT executives from corporations such as State Street Corp., UPS, Hewlett-Packard, Cardinal Health, MasterCard International LLC, Marriott International, and AFLAC.
“We are all very happy that Harriet has received this much deserved recognition,” said Seattle Central President Dr. Mildred W. Ollee. “As a leader in IT education, she has made a profound impact on the lives of thousands of community college students and revolutionized the use of IT on our campus across all disciplines.”
“Our Premier 100 list honors those who have kept fighting despite the many obstacles that technology has thrown at them this year,” said Don Tennant, editor in chief of Computerworld. “This group of men and women have proven themselves through all facets of business, including some of the toughest challenges, such as cultural hurdles, language barriers, corporate politics, internal/external communication, and maintaining fresh, creative ideas.”
Wasserman first came to Seattle Central as a student in 1972, taking a course in data processing. She had a degree in chemistry, but always had an interest in the power of computing. She later founded her own business, Politics as Usual, specializing in election, demographic, and census analysis.
“It was at my business that I realized the amazing need for computing,” says Wasserman, who remembers the days when professionals frantically used slide rules to quickly calculate percentages. “Today, a little basic program on a computer has just revolutionized the whole process.”
Wasserman began her career at Seattle Central in 1983 as a part-time instructor and later became a full-time lab manager. As the college’s Associate Dean and Director of Information Technology, she has pioneered Seattle Central’s well-respected Information Technology program, overseen the complete overhaul of the college’s computer infrastructure, spearheaded capital improvements to classrooms and computer labs, and remained a strong advocate for providing students and staff with the most up-to-date computers and software.
One of her highest priorities is to help her fellow college managers maximize the use of information technology. Rather than focus on just building infrastructure, she is committed to meeting the diverse needs of other departments. “It is important to make IT useful to everyone on campus,” says Wasserman.