“I’m passionate about helping people jumpstart their careers and launch themselves into an industry or field that will help them contribute and make a difference.” —Truman Alumnus Mark Barner
Fall 2015 —Mark D. Barner (’81) serves Ascension — the nation’s largest nonprofit health system, which is based in St. Louis — as its chief information officer and the chief executive officer of its technology subsidiary: Ascension Information Services. Ascension operates in 23 states and the District of Columbia through more than 130 hospitals and 1,900 other sites of care.
Mark recently established an endowment with Truman for the business school related to excellence in education. This fund will provide critical multi-purpose support to the business
school in perpetuity, for scholarships, student activities, departmental program and areas determined of greatest need. It was inspired this fall, when Mark had the chance to visit the campus and see some of the physical changes to Truman and its expansive business school. At that time, he met with Dean Debra Kerby to talk about the state of the business program and tour of Violette Hall.
“I am passionate about helping people jumpstart their careers, and launch themselves into an industry or field that will help them contribute and make a difference,” says Mark. “Fundamentally, my college education at Truman has served as the foundation for all of the other opportunities that presented themselves to me in the years that followed.”
Mark has advocated for Truman since graduating with honors in 1981. A native of central Missouri from the small town of Hartsburg, Mark has held various positions in the computer services industry, including those in state and local government, retail, banking, airline transportation, insurance, and for the last 13 years healthcare.
“I have found my calling in looking at how information technology can support what our caregivers do every day, as we serve the communities in which we operate,” says Mark. “And I established this fund to return something back to the school to help others grow into a leader of IT, an accounting genius or whatever else they may aspire to be.”