University of Wisconsin Oshkosh chief technology officer, Victor Alatorre, ’97, ‘01, is filled with gratitude when he talks about the opportunities he’s had in life.
A native of Monterrey, Mexico, he came to Slinger, Wisconsin, in early 1990, as an exchange student. During his senior year of high school, he was given an opportunity to apply for admission to UW Oshkosh. He has been in various roles as a student or employee since 1991.
“I was at the right place and at the right time, with substantial support from advisers, counselors and faculty,” he said.
Alatorre recently was named to 2020 Si Se Puede: The 39 most influential Latinos in Wisconsin by online magazine Madison365.
In 2012, he received the Chancellor’s Award of Excellence at UW Oshkosh, and in 2013 he was honored with a UWO Distinguished Alumni Award.
“I am humbled (but struggle) with these sorts of public recognitions,” Alatorre said, adding that he was surprised by inclusion of his name on the Madison 365 list. “I am just happy to live here and do well for my family.”
Chief technology officer
Alatorre’s role as chief technology officer for UWO gives him the opportunity to guide a team of information technology (IT) professionals responsible for supporting all devices, networks, server infrastructure, email systems, physical security, imaging, third-party systems and more.
“The process of supporting IT while the campus experiences the current (pandemic) situation has not been easy,” he said, “but our team has managed to do an extraordinary job with limited resources.”
There have been needs for enhanced classrooms, virtual computer labs, remote support for faculty and students, delivery of new equipment, computer lab reconfiguration and support for hybrid classroom capabilities.
He said he is grateful for the IT support team and expressed that their talent and commitment “humbles” him.
Alatorre serves as a liaison for teams at both access campuses, and the colleges of business, nursing, education and letters and science. His job is to fine-tune expectations, capacity and project management.
Both of Alatorre’s parents are engineers and he said he grew up around computers. But during his first year at UWO as a computer science major he realized he didn’t have the “logic mind required” to complete projects as quickly as expected. He changed his major to international business, all while working multiple computer-related jobs on campus.
Alatorre graduated from UW Oshkosh in January 1997 with a degree in international studies (business emphasis) and in January 2001 with a master’s of business administration.
From 1997 to 2015, he served as assistant director of residence life for information technology and budget planning and from 2015 to 2019, Alatorre served as director of infrastructure.
During his tenure in those roles, he coordinated/managed projects to include implementation of a new phone system implementation and the UW Colleges restructuring process with email migration.
Paying it forward
Alatorre credits his success to UWO faculty, advisers, student organizations, Greek Life and student employers, including Residence Life, and says he is grateful for every opportunity he’s had over the past 30 years.
During his time as a student, he served as president of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and subsequently as chapter adviser. He served three terms as senator of the Senate of Academic Staff and its president in 2011. He’s found mentoring of Hispanic students among his most rewarding work.
“I hope I am a role model not just for Hispanic students but for other unrepresented students at UWO,” he said. “I attended UWO in the early 1990s and unrepresented students had the same challenges as today: integration, financial capabilities, cultural/language challenges, racism/discrimination, learning abilities and challenges.”
Alatorre recently completed a six-year term on the UWO Alumni Association Board and his wife, Amy, is a current member. The couple has two children, Isabella and Enrique.
In his spare time, Alatorre said he enjoys spending time with family and collecting Star Wars and Lego items.
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