Deborah P. Close has more than 35 years of IT and general management leadership and senior executive experience. Prior to joining Rutgers for the Spring 2016 semester, Close was the Director of Information Services (CIO) for 14 years at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF). In addition to IT, she was responsible for records management and special projects. Prior to DDCF, Close’s 20+ year career at AT&T/Lucent Technologies/Avaya included IT executive leadership of large-scale, global business applications and infrastructure teams. Close holds an ExMSE from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Wharton School, and a BA in Biology from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College). Her research interests include women in STEM and business process optimization. Close also works as a management consultant. She is married, has two adult children, and two grandsons.