Farhat (Meena) J. Lakhavani

Farhat (Meena) J. Lakhavani, director of User and Educational Services is responsible for managing all aspects of user and educational support services within the university's central computing organization. The User and Educational Services department is comprised of approximately 40+ full-time staff and 80+ part-time student staff members who are responsible for supporting: Instructional technologies, public computer labs, education and training programs, consulting and help desk services, communication and documentation, outreach, desktop support, and other user support services.

Meena provides leadership and innovation in planning, developing and implementing information technology projects that support academic activities and user needs. She directs her group to ensure a high level of client satisfaction with computing support services. She and her department interact with client representatives and maintain an ongoing understanding of campus computing needs. Meena also maintains relationships with peer schools.

Since Meena joined Carnegie Mellon in 1986, she has held various administrative and teaching positions. She has taught in undergraduate, graduate and executive programs. Prior to Carnegie Mellon, she was a senior scientist with Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Meena holds a B.A. in Humanities, a M.S. in Computer Science and has completed doctoral course work in Computer Science; her work has been published nationally. She actively participates in various national organizations and is currently a member of the EDUCAUSE Professional Advisory Committee.