Jim Hurst

I am currently the Executive Director of Engineering IT Shared Services, an organization of about 75 staff providing a wide breadth of IT services to the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois. I have been a manager for nearly 20 years and a director for a decade now. I’m a firm believer that management is a fundamentally different skill set than the technology skills that most practiced to get here. IT in general and higher education in particular often fail to even acknowledge that difference, let alone identify and grow the management skill set among our community. So I was instantly enthusiastic to help launch this program in 2013 and I’m honored to still be a part of it today.

I’ve spent much of my professional career building and implementing systems to create alignment, clear expectations, and accountability in a high performing organization, but I also have a passion for motivating, engaging, and developing people so they can meet their potential.  I love the fusion of high expectations and high levels of support that can create a visible and outsized impact.  I look forward to sharing and discussing those ideas with our cohorts so you too can meet your potential and drive that same impact in your own organizations.