Indiana University School of Medicine Dean Jay Hess and Information Technology Vice President Rob Lowden are both leaving their positions, according to a July 16 IU press release. Lowden accepted a position in the same role at The Ohio State University, while Hess will remain in his role until July 2026.
Hess began his tenure at the School of Medicine in 2013. During his tenure, research funding from the National Institute of Health increased by 125%, according to his webpage. Today, the school ranks 30th nationwide in NIH funding and 13th among public universities.
He is attributed with many changes and improvements to the School of Medicine and its services, most notably condensing more than 65 independent physician groups into the single entity IU Health Physicians.
Lowden’s exit follows a weeks-long saga of university-wide website outages attributed to unknown security issues. Lowden has worked in IT services and other leadership positions for more than 25 years, including the position of vice president and university information officer for the past five.
Lowden led the charge on implementing two-factor authentication across all IU campuses and developing the course management system, according to his IU webpage. He also served in Hawai’i and southeast Asia as a member of the U.S. Navy, earning an honorable discharge for his services.
“We’re grateful to Rob for his leadership and dedication to IU, which has empowered innovation across our campuses,” IU President Pamela Whitten said in the release.
Whitten announced the university will begin a nationwide search for Lowden’s position later this month and Hess’ position Aug. 1.
