Melissa Alsing, Chief Information Officer at Seton Hill University, was honored by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Greater Pittsburgh CIO Group the 2021 CIO of the Year in the Small Colleges/Non-Profits category at a virtual awards ceremony held Thursday, June 24.  

“I am honored to be recognized by my peers in information technology for the work I have done at Seton Hill University, especially during these challenging times,” Alsing said. “Technology is infused in everything we do at Seton Hill – but during the pandemic we had to find new and creative ways to keep the campus community connected. I am grateful for a wonderful team of IT professionals who continue to be innovative and to Seton Hill faculty and staff who embrace technology and the ways that it can – and does – enhance our learning community.”

Seton Hill University President Mary C. Finger, Ed.D., said, “The entire Seton Hill University community congratulates Melissa Alsing on being named CIO of the Year. The honor is well-deserved – particularly for her efforts over the past year - as Melissa has led a team of extraordinary IT professionals who have provided outstanding support to the university community and allowed us to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether she was supporting efforts to enhance education for faculty engaged in online learning in the Spring of 2020, developing hybrid models to allow for both in-person and remote learning during the 2020-21 academic year, or offering assistance to the Seton Hill Health Services team’s COVID-19 testing and contact tracing efforts, Melissa and her team have elevated the technological capabilities at Seton Hill, which has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School since 2012.”

Melissa Alsing has served as Chief Information Officer at Seton Hill University since 2015. In this role, Alsing sets priorities for the university’s information technology staff and manages Seton Hill’s network infrastructure, academic technology support, administrative software support, telecommunications, media services, web and cloud development and the Help Desk. 

Alsing began her work at Seton Hill in 2009 and has served in several roles, including Director of Information Systems, DBA; Executive Director of Information Technology; and Acting CIO. Prior to Seton Hill, Alsing worked for eight years at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pa., where she served as Manager of Administrative Systems, DBA; Manager of Web Development; Web Development Specialist and Administrative Computing Specialist. 

She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Clarion University and an MBA from Chatham. 

The CIO of the Year Awards are presented by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Greater Pittsburgh CIO Group to honor the leaders who keep southwestern Pennsylvania’s technology center on the cutting edge. The annual awards recognize the region’s top information technology and information security executives at all sizes and types of companies throughout the Pittsburgh region.