MARQUETTE, Mich.— Barry C. West, chief information officer/chief privacy officer for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), will be the keynote speaker at Northern Michigan University’s spring commencement on Saturday, May 2. The NMU alumnus also will receive an honorary doctor of business degree.

At the FDIC, West oversees all information technology (IT) policy, cyber security, infrastructure operations and business modernization. He has more than 30 years of experience in the IT field. He previously served as chief information officer/deputy chief management officer for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; executive vice president for S.E. Solutions Inc.; cabinet-level CIO at the U.S. Department of Commerce; CIO at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service; and deputy director for the U.S. General Services Administration-Office of Electronic Government. 

West graduated from NMU in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in information systems. He also holds a master’s, executive master’s and executive doctorate from three other institutions.

“I am honored to be selected as the commencement speaker at Northern Michigan University and to receive an honorary degree at the ceremony," he said. "To have the opportunity to come back to my alma mater after graduating 30 years ago and speak to the graduates will be an epic moment. NMU provided the foundation for my successful career in government, the private sector and academia, and I very much look forward to addressing the graduates.”

West resides in Crownsville, Md.