Senior Director · Scholar · Mentor & Connector
Darice
Corey
Higher Ed IT Leadership & Inclusive Innovation
I build technology that people can actually use. 18+ years at Yale. Executive DBA candidate. Host of the Yale College Voices podcast.
What I Stand For
I build technology that people can actually use.
My work focuses on making systems clearer, more connected, and easier to navigate across higher education. I care about whether something works in real life. Not just whether it launches.
I believe technology should support students, staff, and faculty in ways that feel practical and reliable. That means simplifying complexity, improving communication, and making sure tools fit into everyday work.
I also believe institutions need to be thoughtful about how they adopt new technologies, especially AI. I focus on helping teams use these tools in ways that are responsible, understandable, and grounded in real needs.
At the center of my work is translation. I connect ideas to execution, strategy to systems, and emerging technology to real-world use.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Building systems that support student success, not just operations
Connecting local needs with enterprise platforms and strategy
Designing tools and workflows that people trust and return to
Supporting adoption through clear communication and hands-on guidance
Helping institutions make practical, responsible use of AI
Current Focus
Right now, I'm focused on:
Supporting AI use across decentralized university environments where central mandates don't always reach.
Helping faculty and staff adopt new tools in ways that feel manageable, not imposed.
Identifying gaps between innovation and governance, and building repeatable models that close them.
Impact at a Glance
Numbers that tell the story.
About
I connect the dots others miss.
"I took a blank slate as an invitation to build something that truly serves Yale College."
I'm an IT leader who builds the digital connective tissue for higher education. My career spans 18+ years at Yale, growing from Programmer Analyst to Senior Director. Before Yale, I taught at Albertus Magnus College, the University of Phoenix, and Rasmussen University. That experience shapes how I lead: I explain things clearly, coach people through complexity, and build solutions people can actually use.
I co-developed Designing Your Career, serving 7,100+ students across 83 institutions, earning Yale's Linda K. Lorimer Presidential Award in 2024. I'm also a textbook reviewer for three editions of Processes, Systems, and Information: An Introduction to MIS by Earl McKinney Jr. and David M. Kroenke.
Selected Work
Building things that last.
A curated look at the projects and platforms that have made a real difference at Yale and beyond.
Year-End Report · 2024–2025
The OneIT Connector: A Year of Bridging Yale College and Central IT
An interactive portfolio documenting a full year of strategic IT leadership. AI ecosystem development, first-year student onboarding, digital signage, POS compliance, and cross-unit collaboration.
Read the report →
AI Strategy
Yale College AI Community of Practice
Committee member and active contributor to a 100+ staff community focused on responsible, equity-minded AI adoption. Help drive engagement and programming, contributing to a 92% reported confidence boost among participants. Currently building a “vibe coding” community to expand hands-on collaboration.
Platform · 2018
Yale College Website Redesign
Led the full redesign of Yale College's web presence. Won the Webby People's Voice Award. Foundation of Yale College's digital identity today.
Operations · PCI Compliance
POS & Retail Technology
Deployed Clover POS systems across 20 departments. Full PCI compliance ownership. Standardized revenue collection across residential colleges and cultural centers.
Automation & Workflow
Business Process Automation
Power Automate and Power Apps solutions including FERPA-aware workflows, intake systems, and student-facing mobile apps. Full lifecycle ownership.
Tool · Career Development
Designing Your Career
Co-created a career readiness platform now used by 7,100+ students across 83 institutions. Linda K. Lorimer Presidential Award for Distinguished Service, 2024.
Teaching · 20+ Years
Adjunct Faculty Across Four Institutions
Taught IT, database management, e-commerce, and business systems at Rasmussen University (14+ years), Albertus Magnus College (15 years), and University of Phoenix.
Publication · 3 Editions
Processes, Systems & Information: An Introduction to MIS
Contributed as a textbook reviewer for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of this widely adopted university textbook by Earl McKinney Jr. and David M. Kroenke, helping shape course-aligned content and case materials.
Results
Impact, by category.
💰 Financial Impact
- $130K annual savings from video transcription vendor strategy
- $225K–$1.4M in savings from student housing modernization (2013–2019)
- $981K annual IT budget managed with no overruns
- PCI-compliant POS deployment across 20 departments, reducing cash-handling risk
🎓 Student Impact
- Designing Your Career: 7,100+ students across 83 institutions
- Slate integration enabling seamless onboarding for ~1,600 incoming students annually
- First-year onboarding portal unifying advising, orientation, and engagement
- 12+ students mentored including New Haven Promise interns
🏛️ Institutional Impact
- AI Community of Practice: 100+ members, 92% confidence boost
- 14 residential colleges migrated to unified Appspace digital signage
- 50+ websites governed and maintained under shared standards
- YaleSites Planning Advisory Committee member driving Drupal 10/11 upgrade
🏆 Recognition
- Linda K. Lorimer Presidential Award for Distinguished Service, Yale 2024
- Webby People's Voice Award — Yale College website redesign, 2020
- U.S. Congressional Commendation — community-facing technology initiatives
- EDUCAUSE Next Leaders Fellowship — AI support model capstone
AI Leadership
Building AI strategy that actually works in practice.
Most institutions are still experimenting with AI. I've been building governance structures, community models, and adoption frameworks. This is one of my strongest differentiators and it connects directly to my doctoral research.
See My Research →The Work
An integrated AI ecosystem.
Research, strategy, community, and feedback working as a continuous loop. Each element informs the others.
Research (DBA)
Executive DBA research on equity-minded AI adoption establishes the theoretical framework and informs institutional strategy.
Strategy & Governance
A Balanced Scorecard framework aligns research with university policy and security guardrails, producing a clear AI support roadmap.
Community (CoP)
100+ member AI Community of Practice tests strategy in real life with staff. Lunch & Learns and workshops generate adoption data.
Validation (Feedback)
Community feedback informs new research questions, restarting the loop. 92% staff confidence boost documented.
My Position
How I think about AI in higher ed.
Adoption requires trust, not mandates
Faculty and staff adopt AI when they understand it, see it work, and feel safe experimenting. Community models beat top-down rollouts.
Governance must match the institution's structure
Decentralized universities need flexible governance frameworks. One-size approaches from central IT don't reach where the real work happens.
Equity has to be built in, not added later
AI adoption strategies that don't account for access, representation, and impact on underserved populations will replicate existing gaps at scale.
Practitioners are the bridge
The gap between AI research and institutional practice is filled by people who can do both. That's the practitioner-scholar role I occupy.
Tools should reduce friction, not create it
If a tool makes someone's job harder, it won't be used. Adoption work starts with understanding the actual workflow, not the technology.
The CIO role is changing
Tomorrow's higher ed CIOs will need fluency in AI ethics, governance, and community leadership. Technical skills alone won't be enough.
Let's Talk AI
Building something similar at your institution?
I'm always interested in connecting with IT leaders, researchers, and practitioners working on AI adoption, governance, and equity in higher ed.
Get In TouchDoctoral Research
Practitioner. Scholar. Both at once.
I'm an Executive DBA candidate at Fairfield University, expected to complete in 2028. My research connects what I do every day at Yale to the questions higher ed institutions haven't fully answered yet about AI.
The Research Question
What drives equity-minded AI adoption in decentralized universities?
How do decentralized higher education institutions build AI adoption strategies that are both broadly effective and equitable for all members of the community?
Why This Matters
Most AI adoption research focuses on centralized organizations or K-12 settings. Decentralized universities, where faculty, staff, and students operate with significant autonomy, present a different challenge entirely. Central mandates don't reach where the real work happens. Local adoption without governance creates risk. This research fills that gap.
How It Connects to My Work
Everything I'm studying, I'm also doing in real time at Yale. The AI Community of Practice, the BSC02 governance framework, the workshops and training programs. My research is grounded in practice, and my practice is informed by research. That's the practitioner-scholar model I believe in.
The Practitioner-Scholar Model
I sit at the intersection of theory and practice. I'm not just researching AI adoption. I'm building the structures that test whether those theories hold in real institutional environments. That dual role is what makes this research credible and what makes my leadership distinctive.
What I'm Working Toward
A replicable framework for equity-minded AI adoption that other decentralized institutions can use. Something practical, grounded in evidence, and built by someone who has actually done the work. Expected completion: 2028.
Publications
Textbook reviewer, three editions.
Textbook reviewer for a widely adopted university MIS textbook by Earl McKinney Jr. and David M. Kroenke, helping shape course-aligned content used in classrooms across the country.
Collaborate
Interested in this research?
I'm open to connecting with other researchers, practitioners, and institutions working on AI adoption, equity, and governance in higher education.
Let's ConnectSpeaking & Media
Shaping the conversation in higher ed IT.
I speak at national conferences, lead workshops, and host a podcast. My goal is always the same: give practitioners real frameworks they can use, not theory they have to translate.
Invite Me to SpeakSignature Topics
What I talk about.
AI Governance and Adoption in Higher Ed
How institutions build AI strategies that work across decentralized environments. Covers community models, governance frameworks, equity considerations, and the gap between policy and practice.
Digital Transformation in Decentralized Institutions
What it takes to modernize technology in environments where central authority is limited. Real examples from 18+ years navigating the space between local needs and enterprise platforms.
Building and Leading IT Communities of Practice
How to build communities that drive adoption, share knowledge, and create institutional change. The Yale AI CoP as a case study in scaling impact without scaling headcount.
The Practitioner-Scholar Model for IT Leaders
Why the next generation of higher ed IT leaders needs both research fluency and operational credibility. How to pursue doctoral work while leading at a senior level.
Past Engagements
Where I've presented.
AI Innovation & Impact at Yale: Community, Practice, and Research
Presenter and Community Leader. Explored DEI and AI adoption intersection. Introduced the Practitioner-Scholar model to a national audience.
Regional Higher-Ed AI Strategy
Planning Committee and Moderator. Shaped the regional agenda for IT leaders with focus on student services and ethical AI governance.
Next Leaders Fellowship Capstone
Completed EDUCAUSE Next Leaders Fellowship. Capstone focused on AI support models for higher ed institutions.
Yale College IT Advisory — Monthly Forum
Convenes Deans, Faculty, Staff, and ITS leadership in a unified forum. Primary engine for aligning central IT services with Yale College's academic mission.
Digital Community
Yale College Voices
A podcast I host and produce that amplifies the stories of students, faculty, and staff across Yale College. Built from scratch into a growing digital community.
Speaker Bio
For event organizers.
Short Bio (150 words)
Darice Corey is the Senior Director of Web and IT Planning at Yale College, where she leads digital strategy, AI adoption, and IT service operations for one of the country's most respected liberal arts institutions. With 18+ years at Yale, she has built a career at the intersection of technology, student success, and institutional change. She is the founder of Yale College's AI Community of Practice, co-developer of Designing Your Career (used by 7,100+ students across 83 institutions), and host of the Yale College Voices podcast. Darice is an Executive DBA candidate at Fairfield University researching equity-minded AI adoption in decentralized universities. She is an EDUCAUSE Next Leaders Fellow, a Webby Award winner, a recipient of Yale's Linda K. Lorimer Presidential Award for Distinguished Service, and a U.S. Congressional commendation recipient. She speaks nationally on AI governance, digital transformation, and IT leadership in higher education.
Mentorship & Community
Investing in people is the work.
Mentorship isn’t a side activity for me. It’s central to how I lead. Whether I’m advising a first-year student navigating college life, supporting a junior colleague building their IT career, or connecting women in the workforce to new opportunities, the goal is always the same: help people see what’s possible and give them the tools to get there.
Areas of Mentorship
Where I show up for people.
First-Year Student Advising
Pierson College, Yale UniversityAs a Pierson College Fellow and First-Year Academic Adviser, I work with incoming Yale students during one of the most significant transitions of their lives. I provide academic guidance, help students navigate course selection and degree requirements, and serve as a steady point of contact as they find their footing in a demanding environment. The goal is to help each student feel seen, supported, and ready to thrive.
Yale ITS Peer Mentorship
Yale University IT ServicesThrough Yale’s formal Staff Learning and Development peer mentorship program, I mentored junior ITS colleagues navigating early-career growth in higher education IT. Our conversations covered career pathways, building visibility within a large institution, and developing the leadership presence needed to move into senior roles. I focus on helping colleagues see the full scope of what’s available to them, not just the next step.
New Haven Promise Mentorship
New Haven Promise ProgramI mentored New Haven Promise interns placed on Yale College IT projects, providing hands-on supervision and career guidance for young people from the New Haven community. One standout intern contributed meaningfully to a YaleSites migration project and earned a graduate school recommendation based on their performance. This work reflects my commitment to using my position at Yale to open doors for people who might not otherwise have access to this environment.
Working Women’s Network
Yale UniversityI participate in Yale’s Working Women’s Network, a community focused on career pathways and professional development for women across the institution. This network creates space for honest conversations about advancement, leadership, and navigating institutional structures. I bring my own experience as a senior leader who has built a significant career within Yale to those conversations, with the hope that others can see a clearer path forward.
Student IT Associates & Developers
Yale College ITI have directly mentored Yale student photographers, student IT associates, and student developers working on real Yale College IT projects. Rather than treating student employment as transactional, I structure these experiences as genuine professional development. Students have served as project co-leads, built app prototypes, and developed media credentials and portfolio-building work. Several have gone on to graduate programs and professional roles in technology.
Yale College Voices as a Mentorship Platform
Yale CollegeThe Yale College Voices podcast is, at its core, a mentorship platform at scale. Each episode amplifies the story of a Yale staff or faculty member, giving listeners an honest look at non-linear career paths, resilience, and what it means to build a meaningful professional life. For students and early-career staff, these stories serve as the kind of mentorship that can be hard to access directly.
My Approach
How I think about mentorship.
Good mentorship is not about giving advice. It is about helping someone understand their own strengths more clearly, see options they hadn’t considered, and build the confidence to act on what they know.
I also believe mentorship is most powerful when it crosses boundaries: between senior and junior, between institution and community, between those who have access and those who are working to build it.
The throughline in my mentorship work is the same as my technology work. I connect people to what they need to move forward.
By the Numbers
Connect
Interested in connecting?
Whether you’re a student, an early-career IT professional, or someone exploring what’s next, I’m always open to a conversation.
Get In TouchGet In Touch
Let's talk about what's next.
I'm always open to a good conversation. Here are three reasons people typically reach out.
Invite Me to Speak
Conferences, panels, workshops, and institutional events on AI, digital strategy, and higher ed IT leadership.
Explore a Collaboration
Research partnerships, institutional projects, or shared work on AI adoption, governance, or student-centered technology.
Connect About Leadership
Conversations about IT leadership in higher ed, the practitioner-scholar path, or what's coming next in AI and governance.