Monday, June 8, 2015

Following a national search, Michael Lucas has been named chief technology officer for the University of Georgia. The appointment is effective July 1.

Lucas has led the infrastructure and research computing groups within UGA’s central IT department, Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS), since 2012, overseeing the strategic direction of the infrastructure and planning, server engineering, telephone services and research computing operations. During his three years at the university, he has led several initiatives to improve the research computing services available on campus and has overseen the modernization of UGA’s Boyd Data Center.

“The last three years have been remarkable, in terms of the positive impact that EITS has had on the students, faculty and staff of the University of Georgia,” said Timothy M. Chester, UGA vice president for information technology. “From the implementation of the Banner student information system, to the implementation of a new high performance computing cluster, to the decommissioning of dozens of legacy technology systems, teams lead by Michael Lucas have been an important part of these successes. As the University continues to invest in new science and research support initiatives, including the opening of the new Science Learning Center, Michael’s leadership will be critical to advancing these strategic missions of the University.”

As chief technology officer for EITS, Lucas will provide overall leadership and day-to-day management of departments supporting infrastructure delivery, voice and data communications, academic and administrative information systems, and training and support services. The chief technology officer reports directly to the vice president for information technology.

“The chief technology officer search yielded an impressive pool of experienced information technology leaders,” said Chris Wilkins, IT Executive Director of Finance and Administration. “Michael Lucas stood out among them.”

Prior to his arrival at UGA, Lucas served as the chief technology officer at Pepperdine University and was responsible for technology infrastructure, information security, information systems operations and campus systems communications. Lucas also directed network operations and research computing at Texas A&M University at Qatar for four years. In addition, Lucas worked 11 years as a consultant to higher education, public education and private industry.

Lucas earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science with a marketing minor from Texas A&M university.  

“I appreciate the confidence Dr. Chester has in my abilities to lead the operational area of EITS,” Lucas said. “Although I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made over the past several years, I know there is more work to be done. I look forward to further improving services for the University of Georgia.”