Cynthia Golden

Cynthia Golden is an executive strategic consultant at Vantage. Cynthia joined our team after serving for more than 14 years at the University of Pittsburgh. There, she most recently served as associate provost and executive director of the University Center for Teaching and Learning, and as a center associate in the Learning Research and Development Center.

Cynthia has a long history of supporting the mission of higher education through technology. Prior to Pitt, she served for over eight years as the vice president of EDUCAUSE. She previously held CIO and senior IT leadership roles at Duquesne University, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon University.

In 2023, EDUCAUSE presented Cynthia with the Leadership Award, the association's highest recognition for individual achievement. EDUCAUSE recognized Cynthia for “her extraordinary stewardship in the face of unprecedented challenges, her exemplary leadership in the use of educational technology, her deep understanding of the full range of issues in higher education IT management, and her extensive record of service to the higher education technology community.”

Cynthia is passionate about professional leadership development. She currently co-hosts the EDUCAUSE podcast “The Integrative CIO,” and has directed the Senior Directors Seminar and the Senior Leadership Roundtable at EDUCAUSE. She was a faculty member in the EDUCAUSE New IT Managers program and in the OLC Institute for Engaged Leadership in Online Learning.

Cynthia is also a frequent presenter at conferences and author of numerous articles and monographs. She is the author and editor of the book, “Cultivating Careers: Professional Development for Campus IT.”

Cynthia contributes to our firm’s thought leadership in strategic planning, organizational assessments and development, educational technology planning and assessment, CIO executive advisory services, and IT governance design and implementation.

Cynthia holds a Master of Science in information science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.