iSchool’s Scott Bernard named U.S. federal chief architect in the Executive Office of the President

Syracuse University School of Information Studies Assistant Professor of Practice Scott A. Bernard has been named the Federal Chief Architect in the Executive Office of the President, serving with the Office of Management Budget’s E-Government and Information Technology group. He had been serving as acting chief architect since July 2010. In this role, he will promote and monitor enterprise architecture planning efforts in federal agencies.

“I am honored to have been selected to be the Federal Chief Enterprise Architect,” Bernard says. “Being part of the Executive Office of the President in the Office of Management and Budget gives one an unprecedented view of all federal agencies as they perform a myriad of mission functions that are important to the nation and around the world.”

In his new role, Bernard will be setting the approach for how agencies develop and maintain their business and technology architectures, which are used to support planning and decision making.

“I will also work on a number of Obama Administration initiatives related to increasing transparency, accountability and participation, including the new IT Reform Agenda,” he says. “I plan to continue to teach graduate online courses with the iSchool as time allows, and as an alum (MSIM ’98), I look forward to rooting for the ‘Orange Crush’ whenever SU is playing.”

Before being named to the acting position, Bernard directed the executive education programs at the iSchool, and was instrumental in helping to establish a new interdisciplinary certificate of advanced study in egovernment management and leadership with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. In 2008, he co-founded the University’s Center for Information and Systems Assurance and Trust (CISAT) with Professor Shiu-Kai Chin of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. He also served as the first director of the iSchool’s doctorate of professional studies in information management, and helped manage the federal Scholarship for Service program at SU. Bernard has been on the iSchool faculty since 1998.

“We in the iSchool are thrilled, but not surprised, by Scott’s appointment to this position in Obama’s White House,” says iSchool Dean Elizabeth D. Liddy. “Scott has successfully served in multiple, increasingly central government roles over the years while at the same time being an exceptionally good teacher and mentor for our students. We are pleased that Scott will be maintaining this relationship with the iSchool, as his experience and excellent teaching are so appreciated by our students.”

Bernard has more than 20 years of experience in information technology (IT) management within the federal, military, academic and private sectors. Bernard has held positions as a chief information officer, IT management consultant, line-of-business manager, network operations manager, telecommunications manager, IT systems security manager and project manager for several major IT systems installations. He has served as a senior IT executive for a federal agency, started an enterprise architecture practice for an IT management firm, developed his own consulting practice and lectured on the topic of enterprise architecture worldwide. He has contributed to federal architecture practices and initiatives since 2001, serving from 2007-10 as a co-lead for the development of version 3.0 of the Federal Enterprise Architecture’s Security and Privacy Profile.

In 2001, Bernard participated in the development of “A Practical Guide to Federal Enterprise Architecture,” and in 2004, he published a textbook on enterprise architecture that is now in use globally. Bernard founded the Journal of Enterprise Architecture in 2005 and served as chief editor for five years. He started an enterprise architecture consulting practice for a large IT management firm and has given presentations on enterprise architecture theory and practice at conferences worldwide. He has been a senior lecturer on enterprise architecture and IT security architecture with Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, Institute for Software Research since 2005.

Bernard earned a Ph.D. in public administration and policy at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and has earned a master’s degree in business and personnel management from Central Michigan University, a master’s degree in information management from SU, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern California. He is a graduate of the United States Naval War College and earned a chief information officer certificate and an advanced program management certificate from the National Defense University. Bernard is also a former career naval aviator (IT subspecialty) who served on aircraft carriers and with shore squadrons and staffs, led IT programs and served as the director of network operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.