Raoul Freeman: L.A. County ISC Chair Publishes Writings on E-Government

Raoul Freeman, professor of computer information systems at California State University, Dominguez Hills, contributed a chapter titled “Goals, Measurement and Evaluation of E-Gov Projects” to “The Handbook of Research on Strategies for Local E-Government Adoption and Implementation: Comparative Studies,” (ed. Christopher G. Reddick, University of Texas) which was published earlier this year by IGI Global. E-government refers to the use of Internet technology to deliver government services and information to the public. Freeman’s text examines
the impact of e-government at the local level in countries throughout the world.

Freeman, who has served as the chairman of the Information Systems Commission (ISC) of Los Angeles County for 14 years, says that the greatest strides in e-government in the last decade include more citizen involvement and an increase in efficiency.

Freeman says that users of e-government have helped lighten the load for county employees due to the users’ ability to fill out forms and find answers to questions online.

“Face-to-face services continue, and the levels of service have not been reduced,” says Freeman. “However, less staff time is now required for face-to-face [service] as the volume is lower.”

According to Freeman, Los Angeles County is example of a government that has established several initiatives to make e-government more accessible and secure. Two such initiatives are the Los Angeles County Portal, which features links to a variety of documents and services and Los Angeles Eligibility Automated Determination Evaluation and Reporting (LEADER), a 10,000 workstation welfare system.

This spring, Freeman retired as chair of the computer information systems department (CIS), a position he had held for nearly 25 years. He will continue to teach in the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP). James Strong, dean of the College of Business Administration and Public Policy, says that Freeman’s leadership built CIS into “one of the best departments on campus.”

“Raoul has provided me with wise counsel and unwavering support and I thank him for all he has done for the college and our students,” Strong says. “He has vigorously supported achieving AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation, built a CISCO lab and is now spearheading the implementation of SAP software into [our] logistics and supply chain management concentrations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has [also] reached out and built alliances with community colleges, such as Santa Monica College, to provide a pipeline of students for the logistics programs.”

Freeman earned his doctorate in industrial economics and operations research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as assistant superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District for seven years prior to his arrival at CSU Dominguez Hills in 1984. In the 1970s, he was the founding president of Systems Applications Inc., a computer information systems business.

- Joanie Harmon