From Infrastructure Stewardship to Institutional Capability (Paperback)

Paperback. Abstract In 2010, the University of Florida had eighty fragmented data centersmost of them closetsand computing infrastructure that could not support its ambition to become a billion-dollar research university. When Elias Eldayrie became Chief Information Officer, he faced a consolidation challenge that was as much cultural and organizational as technical. Over the next decade, UF built a centralized data center sized for future demand, grew its research computing team from eight to thirty-six staff, shifted faculty startup packages toward shared infrastructure, and developed compliance capabilities for federally sponsored work. When a $60 million gift from NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky arrived in 2020 to fund HiPerGator AI, the institution was ready to absorb it. By 2025, UF had self-funded a full platform refresh at $127 million and achieved sustained utilization above 95 percent across all sixteen colleges. This case examines how a CIO translated a high-profile infrastructure gift into sustained institutional capability, with open questions remaining about agentic AI, talent retention, and whether the model can be replicated elsewhere. Learning Objectives Evaluate the total cost of ownership and multi-year institutional commitments required to convert a technology gift into sustained operational capability. Analyze the organizational preconditionsfacilities, staffing, governance, and compliancethat determine whether frontier infrastructure succeeds or becomes stranded. Assess strategies for consolidating fragmented IT environments and building faculty trust in centralized platforms. Design lifecycle planning approaches that shift leadership conversations from why invest to how to sustain. Appropriate Courses IT leadership and strategy, technology infrastructure management, organizational change and leadership, IT governance, higher education strategy, and public sector innovation. This case discusses how the University of Florida consolidated fragmented data centers and computing infrastructure before its investment in HiPerGator AI, helping translate a high-profile infrastructure gift into sustained institutional capability. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…