Denison University Vice President and Chief Information Officer Liv Gjestvang has been recognized for her leadership, innovation, and excellence with an Ohio ORBIE award.
Since 1998, more than 500 technology leaders have received the prestigious ORBIE Award, the premier technology executive recognition in the United States. In 2024, Gjestvang joined co-awardees from Owens Corning, KeyBank, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and Big Lots.
Gjestvang, who joined Denison in 2022, leads Institutional Technology Systems (ITS), which oversees the college’s HR, finance, student information, identity access, and cybersecurity platforms, as well as campuswide data strategy, business intelligence, and high-performance research computing.
“We have a talented and passionate team who work hard every day to build and support modern technology infrastructure, secure and reliable systems, pedagogical innovation, affordability for students, and more,” she said. “It’s great to see educational organizations recognized with this award.”
Gjestvang is an early proponent of AI and is at the forefront of efforts to educate the Denison community about its possibilities. She contributes her expertise to support Denison’s data-focused and computer science academic programs. Gjestvang and her team launched and support Denison’s cloud-hosted Canvas LMS. They provide ongoing training for faculty and promote cybersecurity technology and education.
“Liv’s approach to IT is curiosity-based, comprehensive, and far-reaching,” Denison University President Adam S. Weinberg said in nominating Gjestvang. “She is a highly gifted leader, generous with her time, and connects to her division and across campus with warmth and humanity.”
In addition to her accomplishments at Denison, Gjestvang is deeply committed to the IT community. She has served on several boards, including the Committee on Institutional Collaboration, the Big Ten Technology Leaders Committee, and the Unizin Consortium on Data and Analytics. Gjestvang has devoted her time and expertise to assisting in achieving grants that support lifelong learners. In 2008, she received a Federal Improvement for Post Secondary Education grant to support STEM teaching, and in 2014, she co-authored College Ready Ohio, a $13.5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Education.
Since 2021, Gjestvang has been an advisor to the NSF-funded Digital Mathematics Storytelling grant from Communities of Color and is on the Educause 2024 Top 10 IT Issues National Review Panel.