George Claffey has been involved in technology and technology education for the past 25 years. Dr. Claffey has served as a Chief Information Officer for the past 20 years at various public higher education institutions including Charter Oak State College, Western Connecticut State University, and the CT Distance Learning Consortium.
As the Chief Information Officer, he provides technology vision and leadership for developing and implementing IT initiatives that create and maintain strategic value for the enterprise. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Claffey has modernized and matured the IT infrastructure, leveraging technology to reduce the physical distance between the college and the students it serves.
He earned degrees from Central Connecticut State University in Management Information Systems (B.S.), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Management (M.S.), and a Doctorate from Northeastern University in Higher Education Administration (Ed.D.)
Oct 2023: EDUCAUSE Review: 2024 Educause Top 10: Institutional Resilience. Grajek, S. and Top 10 Panel
Aug 2023: Gartner Inc.: Case Study: Central Connecticut State University’s Digital Model Initiative for Connecticut (Central MBD program featured in Gartner case study).
May 2021: (COVID Rescheduled): CT Education Network (CEN) Annual Conference: Esports in 65 Days: A rapid interdisciplinary approach: G. Claffey, K. Kostelis.
June 2020: NERCOMP Annual Conference: Esports in 65 Days: A rapid interdisciplinary approach: G. Claffey, K. Kostelis.
October 2015: EDUCAUSE Annual Conference: The IT Org Chart of the Future. Presented: G. Claffey, L. Sundal, K. Vale.
April 2015: NERCOMP Annual Conference: Confessions of an Active Learning Space Committee. Presented: G. Claffey, W. Krysinski, J. Gregg, P. Lombardi, & R. Shea.
October 2013: EDUCAUSE Annual Conference: Student’s Expectations of Mobile Agility. Presented: G. Claffey, R. Roccio, D. Dusterhoff.
September 2013: MMWCON: Student’s Expectations of Mobile Agility. Presented: G. Claffey, R. Roccio, A. Goodnow, D. Dusterhoff.
May 2013: NERCOMP Annual Conference: A Student’s Prospective & Mobility in Higher Education. Presented: G. Claffey
January 2011: NERCOMP Professional Development Event – Securing Our Weakest Link: Cyber Security training and development for Higher Education. Presented: G. Claffey.
October 2011: EDUCAUSE: Leveraging Internal and External Data to Improve Distance Learning Student Success. Presented: G. Claffey.
October 2011: EDUCAUSE: Mobility Agility: Keeping Pace in an Era of Anywhere Anytime Connectivity
May 2011: Keynote Address: University of Bridgeport Faculty Development Day – Strategies for Transforming Online and On Ground Learning. Presented: G. Claffey.
December 2010: NERCOMP Professional Development Event: Event Coordinator/Speaker - It’s the Data Stupid! Data Analytics and Business Warehousing in Higher Education. Presented: G. Claffey.
May 2010: Jenzabar Annual Meeting: eLearning, Innovate or Die. Presented: G. Claffey.
March 2010: Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP): How the IT Department Can Drive Business Intelligence Strategies to Boost Efficiency and Cut Costs. Presented: G. Claffey.
July 2009: EDUCAUSE Now: Prospective on Costs Reductions in Higher Education. Interview: G. Claffey.
May 2009: Jenzabar Annual Meeting: How Challenges in Higher Education IT Form A Crossroads of Opportunity. Presented: G. Claffey.
April 2009: NERCOMP Special Interest Group (SIG) Presentation: LMS: Selecting (or Re-Selecting) the Right Tool for your Campus. Presented K. Corcoran and G. Claffey.
May 2009: Jenzabar Annual Meeting: Executive Session: Panelist – How Colleges Leverage Social Networking to drive enrollment, retention, recruitment. Presented: G. Claffey.
March 2009: Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP): How Challenges in Higher Education IT Form a Crossroads of Opportunity. Presented: G. Claffey.
November 2009: EDUCAUSE Quarterly: Looking at IT Through a New Lens: Achieving Cost Savings in a Fiscally Challenging Time
November 2009: EDUCAUSE Lightning Round Presentation: Learning On the Move, Leveraging Mobile Technologies with eLearning. Presented: G. Claffey.
November 2009: EDUCAUSE Conference: Statewide K-20 Collaboration on iTunes U. Presented: G. Claffey.
March 2009: Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP): How Challenges in Higher Education IT Form a Crossroads of Opportunity. Presented: G. Claffey.
May 2008: Jenzabar Annual Meeting: ERP + VMWare = Disaster Recovery. Presented: G. Claffey.
May 2008: Jenzabar CIO Summit: Panel Presentation: How Did We Get Here, Career Paths of and Prospective on the Next Chief Information Officer.
February 2008: NERCOMP SIG - Leveraging Consortia Models to Provide Scalability and Support to On Campus Operations. Presented: G. Claffey.
June 2007: Jenzabar Annual Meeting (National Conference): Disaster Recovery for Small Schools and Colleges with focus on ERP recovery. Presented: G. Claffey and M. Penrod.
March 2007: Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP): Disaster Recovery for Small Schools and Colleges Presented: G. Claffey.
Institutional Representative — EDUCAUSE, 2004-Present
Professional Development Sub-Committee Member – EDUCAUSE, 2010-2014
Institutional Representative — NERCOMP, 2004-Present
Member — CT Association of Information Security Systems Professionals (ISSA-CT), Since 2006
State of CT, Information and Telecommunication Systems Executive Steering Committee – 2009-2013
State of CT, Connecticut Educational Technology Council Infrastructure Committee – 2015- Present
Nonprofit and Community Leadership
Buckley High School Industry Advisory Board (Technology & Cyber Security) – 2021-2023
Board Member – Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP, 501c3) – 2011-2015
Finance Committee Member - Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP, 501c3) – 2016-2021
Nominations Committee Member - Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP, 501c3) – 2016-2021
CIO Mentor – Educause – 2020-Present