IBIT News

Fall 2025 Mentoring Session with Bruce Fadem and Chris Cera

This fall, The Institute for Business and Information Technology’s (IBIT) mentoring program hosted two engaging sessions featuring Bruce Fadem, Retired VP & CIO of Wyeth, and Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb Technologies—both esteemed members of the IBIT Advisory Board. The sessions brought together 11 Management Information System students at various stages of education. This new format fostered vibrant discussions and a rich exchange of perspectives.

Students benefited from direct access to senior executives, gaining insights into leadership, innovation, and career development. The sessions were not only informative but also energizing, highlighting the power of mentorship in shaping future professionals.

We extend our sincere thanks to Bruce and Chris for their continued support and dedication to Temple students. Their contributions help make the mentoring program a cornerstone of student engagement and professional growth.

David McGettigan, SVP, Pfizer, appointed Executive in Residence

Temple University’s Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) has appointed Pfizer executive David McGettigan as its Executive in Residence in Fall 2025.

David McGettigan, Senior Vice President at Pfizer, is a distinguished IT leader recognized with the IT Leader award at the 23rd annual information technology awards. He also serves as a member of the IBIT Advisory Board.

On October 22, 2025, McGettigan spent the entire day at Temple University as part of the IBIT Executive in Residence program. During his visit, he actively engaged with both students and faculty, participating in numerous open-ended discussions aimed at fostering industry-academic collaboration and sharing his expertise.

The IBIT Executive in Residence program is designed to facilitate meaningful engagement between industry leaders and the Temple University community.

AI Aware Writing Environment (AAWE) Project

Fostering Ethical and Scalable AI Use in Education

The AI Aware Writing Environment (AAWE), founded by Dr. Megan Kane and Stephen Malkowicz, is designed to help students responsibly use AI tools under instructor-set guidelines. AAWE provides instructors with flexible assignment controls and insights into student engagement and AI use, both authorized and unauthorized.

In partnership with the Digital Innovation Foundry (DIF), AAWE is working to enhance its capabilities. Moa Al Balushi, a management information systems student guided by Manoj Chacko, is currently helping advance the project.

Key goals include building a scalable AWS cloud infrastructure for 1,500+ users and improving AI detection and feedback algorithms to ensure high-quality results and academic integrity.

Digital Innovation Foundry Scholarship 2025

Digital Innovation Foundry (DIF) Scholarships are awarded to high performing students who demonstrate exceptional achievement and accomplishment. Moa Al Balushi and Abby E Dorotov are the recipients of the Fall 2025 endowed DIF Scholarships.

Abby E Dorotov

Persson-Barbour Endowed Scholarship
Fall 2025

Moa Al Balushi

Persson-Barbour Endowed Scholarship
Fall 2025

Rethinking the UX of TU Portal

Temple Information Technology Services (ITS) provides access to a wide range of university resources through TUportal—a centralized hub for the Temple community. ITS has launched an initiative to reimagine TUportal, with a focus on improving accessibility, efficiency, and overall user experience.

DIF Role

In phase 1, DIF reviewed the current state of the Portal and conducted focus group with each stakeholder group to understand their needs and concerns. And in phase 2, reviewed the results from above and suggested a new redesign with help of reviews from students and other stakeholders.

Project Owners

DIF Consultant

Rhenece Andrew
MIS student
Fox School of Business

Impact

“Being able to work on the DIF project was a great experience that gave me a better understanding of user-centered/focused design. Having the opportunity to contribute to the redesign of the Temple University portal allowed me to see firsthand how thoughtful UX/UI decisions can significantly improve how students interact with and navigate digital platforms. ” Rhenece Andrew

“Working on the redesign of the TUportal was one of the more rewarding opportunities that I’ve had at Temple. Collaborating with a cross-functional team of students, faculty and administration, we focused on improving the user experience for the Temple community by simplifying navigation, streamlining access to key resources, and ensuring the design reflected real user needs. It was a powerful example of how thoughtful UX design can transform a digital environment into something intuitive, accessible, and genuinely supportive of the student experience. It is terrific to see how the ITS department integrates the needs of the community in their design framework” Amy Lavin

Manoj Chacko managed this project for DIF