Christina Baum, MBA, PMP
Vice President of Digital Transformation Utah Valley University
- Provo UT
Baum is passionate about using technology to find elegant solutions to business problems.
Media
Biography
Prior to UVU, Baum served as the chief information officer for Ensign College (formerly known as LDS Business College) where she was recognized with the Presidential Award of Excellence in 2019. Additionally, Baum worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' IT department, information and communication services, and many other technology and engineering companies.
She is passionate about using technology to find elegant solutions to business problems and to remove barriers for our students, faculty, and staff. As a first-generation college graduate herself, she loves the dual mission and focus of UVU.
Baum earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Washington State University. During her MBA program, Baum was recognized as the 'Scholar of the Year,' and graduated with top honors, including leading her business team to win a first-place victory in an international business plan competition.
Industry Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Women Tech Award Honoree, Women Tech Council
2026
Presidential Award of Excellence, Ensign College
2019
Education
Project Management Institute
Project Management Professional (PMP)
2016
ITIL Managers
ITIL-Foundations
2016
Washington State University
MBA
Business Administration
2011
Brigham Young University
B.A.
History, Business
2005
Languages
- English
Media Appearances
Shaping Digital Futures: How UVU and Utah’s CIOs Are Transforming Higher Education
TechBuzz news online
2026-03-02
At Utah Valley University (UVU), technology is a strategic driver embedded in the institution’s core decision-making. That shift, according to Christina Baum, UVU’s CIO, didn’t happen overnight. When she joined the university, the CIO role was buried under a VP of Operations, not even part of the president’s cabinet. Baum recalls that prior leadership “elevated the role to a VP cabinet level, gave another AVP position to flesh out the division, and really showed an understanding of how critical technology is.”
Q&A: How Utah Valley University Is Using AI to Help Students Succeed
EdTech magazine online
2026-02-11
With support from Utah Valley University’s Kahlert Applied AI Institute, CIO and Vice President of Digital Transformation Christina Baum and her team have developed Ask Wilson, an AI assistant trained on course content and accessible within Canvas that can answer questions, coach students and create personalized study guides.
Leveraging IT as a Sustainable Strategic Change Catalyst
TRANSFORMED Podcast online
2024-08-29
Join our guest, Christina Baum, CIO and VP of Digital Transformation at Utah Valley University as she details her perspective on the IT role as a catalyst for sustainable strategic change. Across every institution, IT is uniquely positioned to serve as a catalyst: IT teams can have a huge impact on goals that translate to action. The craft and talent of IT has evolved to support those goals with a structured approach. Throw in support from university leadership, and it’s a recipe for success.
How private is “incognito mode?”
KSL NewsRadio online
2023-12-01
“It’s kind of a misnomer in some ways,” said Christina Baum, Vice President of Digital Transformation and Chief Information Officer for Utah Valley University. “What it does, actually, is only track cookies within that incognito session. When you close that session, the cookies are removed.”
AI Voice Clones and Deepfakes: The Latest Presidents’ Engagement Tools
Inside Higher Ed
2023-11-14
Over the last year, the ability to make AI bots has advanced dramatically. At Utah Valley University, it took IT staffers just a month to mimic Tuminez’s voice.
“It’s actually quite easy—and that’s what’s so scary,” said Christina Baum, UVU’s CIO. “It’s pretty quick to clone a voice.”
Telling the UVU Story: UVU Holds Annual Summit on Data
Utah Valley University online
2023-02-02
This year’s summit focused on using data to create stories and make informed decisions.
“Data is an asset of the university and is critical to our successful storytelling and decision-making,” said Christina Baum, vice president of Digital Transformation at UVU. “Digital Transformation has been working hard to implement new technologies to make the collection, storage, sharing, and visualization of data easier and more effective.”
New VP Christina Baum Leads UVU Through Digital Crossroads
Utah Valley University online
2022-07-27
The phrase “digital transformation” may conjure imagery of sparkling, new technologies, but for Christina Baum, Utah Valley University (UVU) vice president of digital transformation (Dx) and chief information officer (CIO), digital transformation is about more than that.
“I think it's also the culture,” Baum said. “It's the willingness to try new things. It's the willingness to be adaptable, too. It’s really a strong partnership with our faculty, with our staff, and with our students.”
Articles
Universities Are Discovering How Generative AI Fits Their Future
Dell Technologies Case Study2024
Giant lecture hall-style courses can be intimidating for students and overwhelming for teacher assistants. Christina Baum, the vice president of digital transformation and chief information officer at Utah Valley University, is excited about AI’s potential to help both parties.
