“VU is fortunate to have a talented team of IT professionals and Bob’s IT leadership experience will help not only our Management Information Center, but also our entire university get even stronger,” Johnson said.

Wisler is a native of Anderson, Indiana, and was selected from a strong candidate pool. 

He carries an impressive resume with multiple IT leadership roles and extensive higher education expertise. He has more than 20 years of experience as a CIO at three higher education institutions.

Before he was the principal consultant of Wisler & Associates, LLC, Wisler was the director of information technology at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan. At Northwood, he led efforts in digitization and enhancing operational excellence. He oversaw all aspects of IT, including systems familiar to VU, such as Blackboard and Banner. He also served as an IT director at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia and Polk Community College in Winter Haven, Florida.

Wisler sees the role of IT as a mixture of service and strategy and providing both equally in order to advance higher education through the use of information technology.

“Everything we do has to be student-focused, and we can use technology to help transform the University,” he said. “My tagline is, “It is not about the technology, it’s about the people that the technology serves.”

“If everybody keeps that in mind, we’ll be able to make sure we are taking care of students, faculty, and staff. One of the main things we do is make sure faculty has the right tools to help students be successful.” 

Virtual learning and online experiences, and the technology associated with them are crucial to higher education institutions in the midst of this global pandemic. IT has proven essential to VU both operationally and as an important strategic partner for achieving VU's mission. 

Wisler has his finger on the pulse. He is very engaged within IT circles, including regional associations with Ellucian. He has also served as a panelist and contributor for IT research and thought leadership organizations, including Gartner and Educause. 

“It’s always been my goal to help everyone on my team to find out what they want to do in their careers and help them achieve their goals," Wisler said. "Those are the types of teams I like to build, and that’s been really successful with the teams that I’ve had.”

He earned a Master of Business Administration from Northwood University and a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from the University of South Florida. He initially studied marketing in college before developing a strong interest in information technology.

Wisler’s appointment is effective Jan. 11, 2021. The position will report directly to the President.

“I’ll be doing a lot of listening when I get there, so I can learn what is working and what we can do to make a larger impact,” Wisler said. 

He is pleased about returning to his home state of Indiana.

“It’s a nice homecoming,’” Wisler said. “My parents and family still live in Anderson, so I’ll be closer to them. It’s nice to be able to come back and serve.”

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