Phillip Knutel

Phillip Knutel is responsible for Berklee’s information systems, overseeing the strategic integration of technology throughout the institution. He oversees administrative, faculty, and student support services, facilitating the work and learning of diverse populations with a wide variety of abilities and technical needs. Knutel leads a dedicated team of information technology professionals across three areas: Enterprise Technology Services, Technology Training and Support Services, and Systems and Network Services.

Knutel brings more than 25 years of management and leadership experience in higher education developing, aligning, and executing strategy. He comes to Berklee from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where he served as vice president and chief information officer. At Babson, he led digital strategy, built infrastructure for growing online enrollments, managed the capital and operating budget and staff of 85, and cultivated a culture of constant innovation that improved teaching, learning, and research. His work also included launching Salesforce as Babson’s first customer relationship management platform; introducing Agile/Scrum practices; creating an IT strategic planning committee to engage faculty and staff in prioritizing IT initiatives; overseeing a three-year campus network upgrade; renovating, modernizing, and expanding the library to accommodate technology-enabled study; and replacing the student information system, learning management system, and web content management system.

Prior to Babson, Knutel served as chief information officer at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, where he implemented an enterprise architecture committee to ensure the most effective, efficient, and consistent use of IT; collaborated with university constituents to design and evolve IT-infused learning spaces; designed technology facilities and integrated technology into the curriculum; and authored and assisted with several grant proposals that were funded.

Knutel’s extensive experience with students and faculty includes teaching as an adjunct assistant professor of information design and corporate communication at Bentley, and as a visiting lecturer in the M.B.A. program at the German Graduate School of Management and Law in Heilbronn, Germany. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and a B.S., magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.