Overview of the Role

The Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information Technology, reporting directly to the Texas A&M University’s Senior Vice President for Strategy and Business Services, provides executive leadership for information technology strategy, services, infrastructure, and operations. In collaboration with university leadership, the Texas A&M System CIO, and stakeholders across the institution, the CIO aligns technology investments and services with institutional priorities while ensuring that IT remains secure, reliable, responsive, and financially sustainable.

The CIO oversees enterprise technology planning and service delivery, including applications, networks, telecommunications, cybersecurity, vendor relationships, project management, and technology modernization. The role also encompasses budget and resource management, business continuity, regulatory compliance, and the development of effective service models that meet the needs of academic, research, and administrative communities.

A central responsibility is building an effective, collaborative IT organization that delivers consistent service and earns the trust of the university community. The CIO will establish clear priorities and decision-making processes, strengthen accountability and employee engagement, and foster productive partnerships with faculty, researchers, deans, administrators, and technology leaders across colleges, schools, divisions, agencies, and the broader System.

The successful candidate will balance university-wide coordination and appropriate technology standards with the flexibility required by a large research institution. This includes exercising sound financial and operational judgment, evaluating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, modernizing network infrastructure to meet evolving technology demands, strengthening data governance and cybersecurity, navigating federal and state rules and regulations, and communicating technology opportunities, constraints, and risks in practical terms.

The CIO will be expected to translate institutional priorities into measurable progress, strengthen organizational effectiveness, and position information technology as a trusted partner in advancing Texas A&M University's educational, research, administrative, and public-service missions.

The Opportunity

Texas A&M University (Texas A&M), a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the flagship institution of The Texas A&M University System, invites applications and nominations for the position of Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information Technology. As one of the nation's largest public research universities, Texas A&M supports an extensive academic enterprise, a nationally significant research portfolio, and a broad range of administrative and public-service functions. The university's scale, complexity, and ambitions create an important opportunity for technology leadership to advance institutional priorities and strengthen the university's capacity to serve Texas and beyond.

The next CIO will join Texas A&M at a consequential moment in its development. As the university advances its Beyond 150 vision, technology will play an increasingly significant role in supporting transformative educational experiences, discovery and innovation, collaboration, and community engagement. The CIO will help translate these institutional ambitions into a clear technology strategy, ensuring that IT services, infrastructure, investments, and organizational capabilities align with the university's evolving needs.

Texas A&M seeks an experienced technology executive with strategic acumen, operational judgment, and collaborative leadership skills to lead a large, complex IT organization. The successful candidate will bring experience managing enterprise technology, substantial budgets, and teams, along with an understanding of the needs of a major research university. The CIO will strengthen service delivery, modernize technology, advance research and academic priorities, and ensure technology decisions support institutional goals and responsible stewardship.

The next CIO must also build confidence in Technology Services and strong partnerships across a multifaceted institution. This leader will set clear priorities, communicate effectively, address organizational challenges, and foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and results. Success requires balancing university-wide standards and shared services with the distinct needs of colleges, schools, divisions, agencies, faculty, researchers, and administrative units.

This is an opportunity to shape the future of technology at Texas A&M University: strengthening the organization's effectiveness, enabling research and educational innovation, and positioning IT as a trusted partner in advancing the university's mission.

Opportunities and Challenges

The next CIO will address the following opportunities and challenges:

Advance a connected and effective technology enterprise.

Texas A&M's size and complexity require an IT organization that coordinates technology planning and services across colleges, schools, divisions, agencies, research units, and administrative functions. The next CIO will help define and strengthen the role of a centralized IT structure, establishing clear responsibilities, enterprise-wide standards, and coordinated services while ensuring appropriate alignment with the needs of individual units.

Success will require translating institutional priorities into coordinated technology plans, strengthening enterprise-wide collaboration, identifying opportunities to improve shared services, and determining where centralized capabilities can improve consistency, efficiency, security, and service delivery. The CIO must balance the benefits of university-wide coordination with the flexibility required to support Texas A&M's diverse academic, research, and administrative missions.

Strengthen organizational stability and effectiveness.

The next CIO will establish a clear direction for IT, strengthen organizational stability, and build employee morale and confidence. This will require assessing organizational needs, strengthening leadership capacity, setting clear expectations, and reinforcing accountability across Technology Services.

The CIO will foster employee engagement and a shared sense of purpose, creating an organization equipped to manage change, support its workforce, and deliver consistent results.

Build trusted partnerships across campus.

Technology Services must be a trusted partner to those responsible for teaching, research, and administration. The next CIO will build productive relationships with faculty, researchers, deans, administrators, and other university leaders, ensuring that technology decisions reflect institutional needs and support academic and operational success.

This requires listening effectively, communicating technology opportunities and limitations clearly, and developing practical solutions to shared challenges. The CIO must also navigate System-level technology initiatives, pursuing opportunities for collaboration while protecting Texas A&M's institutional priorities and specific needs.

Support research, discovery, and innovation.

Texas A&M's substantial research enterprise requires advanced computing, data capabilities, connectivity, collaboration tools, and specialized technology services. The next CIO will ensure these capabilities support ambitious scholarship, research partnerships, and innovation across the university's diverse disciplines.

Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, supercomputing, and health technologies, offer opportunities to advance research, education, healthcare, and administrative effectiveness. The CIO will work collaboratively with academic, research, and health leaders to support technology-enabled discovery, strengthen data and computing capabilities, and enable the responsible adoption of emerging solutions. Success will require weighing potential benefits against operational demands, governance requirements, security considerations, and associated risks.

Modernize technology and improve service delivery.

Texas A&M depends on technology services that are reliable, accessible, secure, and responsive. The next CIO will modernize enterprise systems, applications, networks, and infrastructure while maintaining effective day-to-day operations.

Priorities include evaluating direct, shared, outsourced, and cloud-based service models; improving operational integration; strengthening project management and implementation; and measuring results. Modernization efforts must enhance capabilities and user experience while preserving service continuity, controlling costs, and supporting long-term sustainability.

Protecting university information, research assets, systems, and services is essential to Texas A&M's mission. The next CIO will integrate cybersecurity, privacy, risk management, and resilience into technology strategy and operations.

The university must balance appropriate safeguards with legitimate needs for information access, collaboration, and research. Effective leadership will establish clear security practices, promote risk-based decision-making, strengthen business continuity, and ensure compliance with applicable requirements, including those governing sensitive research and regulated information. The CIO will also partner with the Chief Data Management Officer and relevant governance committees to support effective data governance and align technology practices with university-wide data policies and priorities.

Establish effective governance and clear decision-making.

Technology decisions at Texas A&M involve competing priorities, complex funding arrangements, and differing institutional needs. The next CIO will establish governance processes that clarify decision rights, define accountability, and provide a consistent framework for evaluating trade-offs and setting priorities.

The CIO must make and communicate difficult decisions transparently, explain constraints, and help university leaders understand how competing needs are addressed. Governance should enable timely action and accountability while preserving appropriate flexibility for academic, research, and administrative units.

Exercise financial stewardship and demonstrate value.

The CIO will oversee substantial technology resources and ensure that budgets, capital investments, vendor relationships, and service models are managed responsibly. This includes evaluating costs and benefits, identifying efficiencies, and directing resources toward the university's most important technological needs.

Success will require balancing cost, risk, service quality, innovation, and long-term sustainability. Clear investment criteria and measurable outcomes will help demonstrate technology's value, inform future decisions, and ensure responsible stewardship of university resources.