August 10, 2005 :: No. 11

Amir H. Dabirian has been named chief information technology officer at Cal State Fullerton, securing the post he has held on an acting basis since March when the university’s first permanent chief information technology officer retired.

The appointment by President Milton A. Gordon is effective Aug. 15.

“Cal State Fullerton has made significant progress in technology in the last 15 years, both in terms of its infrastructure and applications,” noted Gordon. “One of the important reasons for this progress is because of the leadership we’ve enjoyed in this arena. Hence, it was vital that we find someone who could provide the same visionary leadership now and into the future, and I am confident we have that person in Mr. Dabirian,” he said.

“While staying focused on current technology developments, he is always thinking about where technology will be next year, in five years, etc. This futuristic, visionary approach is important because of rapid changes in technology,” added Gordon.

“We are, indeed, fortunate to find the right person at this time to lead our technology development.”

As chief information technology officer, Dabirian will become a regular member of the President’s Administrative Board and oversee a division of 95 staff members and a $13.2 million budget.

An Orange resident, Dabirian is a 20-year veteran at Cal State Fullerton, where he has risen through the ranks in Information Technology and been a lecturer in computer science and management information systems. In addition, he serves on University Extended Education advisory boards for a dozen certificate programs offered in computer science, ranging from “C” and Windows programming to network security and Visual Basic.NET.

As a member of the Information Technology staff, Dabirian served for four years as director of Internet and web technologies and the Titan Lab and most recently as director of the Common Management Systems project. Previously, he spent almost four years as head of systems and information technology for the University Library and a dozen years as systems manager/network manager for the university’s Computer Center.

During a six-month leave of absence in 2000-01, Dabirian was chief VisaBuxx architect and chief information technology officer for Card Express Inc., where he was responsible for taking the product from design specifications to launch.

Dabirian holds two master’s degrees — one in computer science from UC Riverside and another in engineering with an option in electrical engineering from CSUF, as well as a bachelor’s degree in engineering, also from CSUF.

Willie Hagan, vice president for administration, chaired the search committee that recommended Dabirian’s appointment. He succeeds Michael C. Parker, the university’s first permanent CITO, who retired this spring.

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