2014-2015 Grad School of Computer and Information Sciences Viewbook

17 www.scis.nova.edu | Despite having a master’s degree in public administration and serving as chief information officer, Donald Lemma knew that a computer-related master’s or doctoral degree was the only sure way to further his IT knowledge. Not one to shy away from a challenge, the adventurous mountain climber decided to pursue his Ph.D. “With a Ph.D., you bring more to the table than someone with just a working knowledge of IT.” Over the years, Lemma had also become keenly aware of the kinship that was shared by his terminally degreed coworkers. “I worked a lot with scientists and researchers. Without a Ph.D., you were on the outside looking in. I didn’t want to be on the outside anymore.” Lemma knew he wanted to get his Ph.D. as quickly as possible. While researching schools, he was left wondering if he could get his degree while working or if he had to give up his full-time job. “NSU solved that problem for me. The Ph.D. in Information Systems program at GSCIS catered to working executives, like me.” After two years of online classes and regular visits to NSU’s main campus, the highly focused Lemma took only one additional year to finish his Ph.D. While on campus, he enjoyed partnering with his fellow students, who had the same technical and research mindset. It was also during his campus visits that he struck up a friendship with GSCIS faculty member Sumitra Mukherjee, Ph.D. “We were both business minded, so we were kindred spirits. We really enjoyed each other’s company.” Mukherjee served as Lemma’s faculty adviser. “He kept me motivated. He provided incredibly focused responses to my drafts and ideas, always urging me to consider a few new angles I hadn’t thought of.” In addition to the responsive and dedicated faculty members, Lemma also found that GSCIS’ dissertation process helped keep him on track with his Ph.D. “GSCIS broke the dissertation process down into defined steps, so it was manageable. You knew what you needed to do for step one, step two, and so on. They gave you the tools you needed to finish your Ph.D.” The high-ranking executive credits NSU for helping him achieve his long-term career goal of serving as CIO for a Fortune 500 company. “The program enabled me to achieve my career ambitions. Before my Ph.D., I was CIO at a small company. After, I was CIO at a large company, with an IT staff of more than 1,500 and an IT budget in excess of a half-billion dollars.” Now, the CIO and associate dean at Columbia University’s Business School is doing what he enjoys the most and making time to continue his quest to climb the highest points in each of the 50 states. “GSCIS broke the dissertation process down into defined steps so it was manageable. You knew what you needed to do for step one, step two, and so on. They gave you the tools you needed to finish your Ph.D.” —Donald Lemma