Tech VP finalists to visit Northwest campus

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Two finalists for the position of vice president of information technology at Northwest Missouri State University will be on campus for interviews and site visits over the next week.

Robert Stewart will visit Northwest on Thursday, and Farhat (Meena) Lakavani is to arrive next Tuesday, Dec. 8.

Open forums with each candidate are scheduled for 12:30-1:30 p.m. at The Station conference center. All university employees are invited to attend.

The candidate selected will succeed Rob Thomas Jr., who resigned earlier during the fall semester, citing personal reasons.

Stewart has 20 years’ experience in operations management, project management, training, customer support, team building, and strategic planning. He currently serves as an associate professor in the College of Health, Human Services, and Science at Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa.

Previously, Stewart held interim positions as chief technology officer for the University of Wisconsin Health System; director of information technology and security officer for Ernest Health Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and chief information officer and director of technology at University of New Mexico Medical Group in Albuquerque.

He holds degrees from A.T. Still University, Loyola University Chicago, Ball State University, Ashford University, and California University, as well as a master’s certificate in project management from Villanova University.

Now self-employed as an information technology management consultant, Lakavani served 28 years in various roles at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where she was executive director of information and computing for the Tepper School of Business; director of user and educational services in Computing Services; and director of academic technology services strategy in Computing Services.

Lakavani holds degrees from St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Canada; Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan; and the University of Pittsburgh.