Two RPI diplomas hung on the wall, serving as a background for John Kolb as he sat at his desk. Kolb serves on the president’s cabinet as chief information officer. As the architect of the "information environment" here at RPI, Kolb never has a shortage of suggestions on how to improve his performance. However, as a non-technical major, I had no "advice" for him and actually found him to be well-suited for his job.

Kolb is the son of two RPI engineers; his mother was one of the first women to be matriculated here. "The summer of 1942 she and Lois Graham came to RPI and they were the first two women to graduate, Class of ’46. There had been women all the way back to Amos Eaton’s time, but they were never in a fully matriculated program," remarks Kolb.

Kolb grew up in "a couple of places" in New York, but he spent the majority of his early years in Grand View-on-Hudson, near the Tappan Zee Bridge. He attended Tappan Zee High School. As a youth, his hobbies included tinkering with mechanical gadgets such as bicycles, TVs, and other "technology."

After high school, however, Kolb was reluctant to attend RPI. "I finally got over the fact that my parents went to RPI, and that it would be okay for me to go there. And it’s been a great place for me," he commented. "I was probably one of the last classes to come to RPI with a slide rule in hand."

He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1979 and worked for a few companies, such as Compu-Graphics in Boston. "At one point they had more electronic fonts than anywhere else in the world," remembered Kolb.

His interest in graphics eventually drew him back to the graphics center at Rensselaer, which was on the cutting edge at the time. He received his master’s degree and went on to become the director of Engineering Computing Services, which ran the graphics for the computing facilities on campus. Ever since, Kolb has been here. "I can tell you, once I finished my student days here, it was probably the last place I would stay, so it’s ironic that I’ve been here for 20 years on staff!"

In the early ’90s he was appointed associate dean of engineering and worked on the core curriculum. During this time, he also taught interactive computer-aided design as well as computer science. He greatly enjoyed his teaching years and "was tempted to [go back to teaching] this year," but he doesn’t feel it fits in with his current duties.

Eventually Kolb was working in campus computing again. "When I applied for the associate dean of engineering position, people were looking at me and saying, ‘What is this computing guy doing playing with curriculum?’ and then five years later when I took an interview to become the dean of computing and informations services, people were saying, ‘What’s this curriculum guy doing playing with computing?’" he chuckled.

Kolb was the dean of computing and information services until a little over a year ago when President Jackson created the cabinet-level position of chief information officer. "It is similar to what I was doing as dean, but there’s one twist. This position has a broader view of the entire Institute and the entire information environment. I look at information strategies as opposed to just services," he explained.

After spending so many years on campus, Kolb has a lot to say about the Institute. "RPI is a really neat place," he stated. "It’s hard for any of us within a certain system, looking from within, to see that. Having been here for a while, there are a lot of really neat things here. The cohort of people who come here because they’re interested in technology and science makes it a very interesting place to be. I’m always amazed by the level of people, whether it’s faculty, students, or staff, that we attract here."

"I do think it’s important to enjoy yourself and learn how to lead. Too many technical folks limit their own careers by not having a broader view of the rest of the world. While I was a grad student here, I was technical director of the RPI Players, and probably spent 50 to 60 hours a week doing that. It was demanding but very enjoyable," offered Kolb, who is a member of the Delta-Xi cast of Alpha Psi Omega, the theatrical honor society.

In his spare time, Kolb is the president of the Junior Museum and is a member of the Wyckoff Association historical society, which runs the oldest framed structure in the state of New York, down in Manhattan. He also sits on the board of the East Greenbush Soccer Club, and holds a grade-D license in New York for soccer coaching, the highest level before national licensing. He referees and coaches for his three kids, who are all avid players. As an engineer, he also spends a lot of time tinkering.

John Kolb can be reached at kolbj@rpi.edu.

NEXT WEEK: Rev. Thomas Phelan, Institute Dean and Historian.