Effective July 1, 2023, Mark D. Sonstein has been promoted to Assistant Vice President for Information Technology in addition to his role as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Purdue University. He previously served as Executive Director and CTO.

In his expanded role as Assistant Vice President, Sonstein will lead business continuity planning and identity and access management units in addition to his previous responsibilities including establishing and implementing tactical and operational plans for all Purdue IT infrastructure services systemwide, managing budget for IT Infrastructure and Purdue System Cloud (PSC) services, and negotiating contracts, infrastructure and PSC services from external vendors for Purdue University.

“Mark is a tremendous asset to the Purdue IT team. His ability to adapt quickly to emerging technologies and lead as a change agent are exactly the skills we need as we move Purdue IT into the future,” said Ian Hyatt, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. “I’m pleased to have him in this expanded role as we continue to pursue excellence at scale and lead the way in IT for higher education.”

During his tenure at Purdue, Sonstein has made national news and was featured in EdTech Magazine for bringing innovative solutions to education’s unique challenges with technology in the classroom. Understanding the technical capabilities unconstrained by institutional thinking, he deployed a solution to reduce non-academic network traffic in classrooms. This initiative resulted in a 33% reduction in bandwidth consumption and improved customer satisfaction.

He also implemented a strategic vision that improved customer satisfaction, increased speed of delivery, and reduced costs in 2020. The effort provided an immediate, recurring return on investment that has provided nearly $10M in savings, while reducing overall organizational risk.

In 2022, Sonstein was included in CDO Magazine’s “Leading Data and Technology Executives U.S. Public Education List,” which highlights education and technology professionals who are redefining the education landscape through the use of digital tools and assisting the public education system with their high-caliber expertise.

Prior to joining Purdue University, Sonstein led the cloud computing division of CGI Federal’s Emerging Technology Practice. Coupled with other emerging trends, including DevSecOps, Infrastructure as Code, and other automation-focused technologies, he led the ‘Cloud Right’ migration strategies supporting U.S. Government agencies’ migrations.

Sonstein retired from the U.S. Army in 2011 after completing 23 years of service and multiple combat operations. His career culminated as an Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. He led the Leadership Development Course and personally taught over 400 future Army Officers.