Donna Kidwell

Donna Kidwell is the Chief Information Officer of the University of Toronto, appointed to the permanent role effective May 1, 2025.

Career path

Before moving into higher education technology leadership, Kidwell worked as a software consultant, building custom database applications and eLearning environments for organizations including Exxon, Agilent and Keller Williams Realty International.

She holds a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and a Doctor of Business Administration in Innovation from Grenoble Ecole de Management.

Kidwell later served as Chief Technology Officer of EdPlus, Arizona State University's online learning division, for three years, where she helped develop the Trusted Learner Network, a tiered framework for identity management and digital credentialing.

In November 2020 she joined ASU's University Technology Office as Chief Information Security and Digital Trust Officer, a dual role that also carried Deputy CIO responsibilities and in which she led execution of the university's information security strategic plan.

She has described herself as ASU's inaugural Chief Digital Trust Officer.

The University of Toronto announced Kidwell's appointment as Chief Information Security Officer and Deputy CIO in April 2024, and she joined the university on May 27, 2024.

Effective October 1, 2024, Kidwell was named Acting Chief Information Officer at U of T.

Following an external search that drew more than 300 applications from across North America, the CIO search advisory committee recommended Kidwell, and she began her permanent term as Chief Information Officer on May 1, 2025.

As CIO, reporting to the Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, Kidwell leads the university's technology strategy for teaching, learning, research and administrative operations, and oversees information security and privacy through the Chief Information Security Officer.

Remit and public engagement

Kidwell has discussed her career path and the Canadian higher education technology context on EDUCAUSE Review's The Integrative CIO podcast alongside Gayleen Gray, Chief Technology Officer of McMaster University.

On the program she traced her roles from the private sector and the University of Texas System through EdPlus and ASU to her move to Toronto.

At the IT@UofT 2025 conference, she hosted a panel on challenges facing women in information technology and higher education, featuring staff from across the university's campuses.

Discussing gender representation in senior leadership, Kidwell said, "CIOs are still a heavily male-dominated career path — although this has been changing over the last few years."

She told the panel that good leadership means treating mentorship as a deliberate practice.