Description

Position Overview
The Deputy Chief Information Officer, Academic and Research Technologies, is a pivotal executive leadership role within MUSC’s Enterprise Information Solutions organization. This leader is accountable for the technology strategy, systems, and services that advance MUSC’s academic, clinical, and research missions, with direct oversight over two of the three pillars of the institution’s tripartite purpose.

This executive serves as the primary bridge between Central Information Solutions (Central IS) and the academic enterprise, spanning the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, College of Dental Medicine, College of Health Professions, and College of Graduate Studies, as well as MUSC’s vibrant research community. The role partners closely with local IS teams embedded within schools and research programs, ensuring that enterprise architecture and infrastructure investments are appropriately extended and tailored to academic and research environments.

A core priority is the deployment, optimization, and lifecycle management of enterprise Student Information Systems (SIS), learning management platforms, and research enablement technologies. This leader will work at the intersection of academic operations and cutting-edge discovery, supporting MUSC’s signature Integrated Innovation Institutions (I3’s) strategic initiatives, facilitating clinical research infrastructure, and enabling the translation of discovery into care model redesign.

This is a role for a seasoned technology executive who brings equal command of the academic and research enterprise, someone who can champion the technology needs of students, faculty, and academic administrators with the same credibility and fluency they bring to supporting investigators, research programs, and the translational science agenda. MUSC requires a leader who sees these two missions not as separate portfolios, but as deeply interconnected dimensions of a single institutional purpose.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Vision for Academic and Research Technologies

•  Define and champion MUSC’s academic and research technology strategy with a 2–3 year roadmap across student information systems, research computing, learning technology, and academic-clinical integration, aligned with system-level strategies spanning the University, Health System, and statewide initiatives, including the I3 framework.
•  Lead academic and research technology governance with representation from school leadership, faculty, researchers, and students, and coordinate academic application roadmaps with Central IS enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, data and analytics, and digital strategy to create a coherent, platform-rationalized environment.
•  Ensure strategic alignment of academic technology investments with regulatory requirements (FERPA, HIPAA in research contexts, federal sponsor mandates) and industry standards (IMS Global, SCORM, LTI).

Student Information Systems, CRM, and Academic Application Portfolio

• Oversee the deployment, optimization, and lifecycle management of MUSC’s Student Information System (SIS), including student records, enrollment, financial aid, advising, degree auditing, and institutional reporting, and drive SIS maturity through targeted process automation, self-service functionality, and integration with institutional and national reporting frameworks.
•  Establish integration strategies and oversee specialty academic systems across the portfolio, including Learning Management Systems, clinical education and GME platforms, curriculum management, simulation, testing and assessment, library systems, and faculty credentialing, in partnership the Office of Enrollment Management (which includes Registrar, Financial Aid, Admissions, and Data & Reporting), Academic Affairs, and Student Services offices to meet institutional, accreditor, and regulatory expectations. Academic Affairs, Student Accounting and Student Services offices to meet institutional, accreditor, and regulatory expectations.
•  Oversee current CRM interface and management, addressing the ongoing gap on the SIS side, and design a future roadmap with key stakeholders to support prospective student engagement and enrollment.

Research Enablement and Innovation

• Provide strategic technology leadership for MUSC’s research enterprise across the full research lifecycle, from protocol development and IRB management through data collection, analysis, and publication, building an ecosystem that accelerates investigator productivity and supports NIH rankings and extramural funding goals.
• Lead development and governance of research data infrastructure (research data warehouses, biorepository systems, REDCap, clinical trial management platforms) and advance research computing capabilities, including high-performance computing, cloud research environments, and secure data enclaves in partnership with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, IRB, and research compliance, meeting federal grant and data security requirements.
• Support translational research infrastructure that bridges bench science and clinical application, enabling investigators to leverage EHR data, genomics platforms, and population-level datasets for discovery.

MUSC Integrated Innovation Institutions (I3) Strategic Initiatives and Clinical Research Integration

• Serve as the primary technology partner for MUSC’s I3 strategic initiatives, providing technology enablement, data infrastructure, and operational support for signature research programs, and enable clinical research into care model redesign through pragmatic trials, quality improvement studies, and learning health system activities.
• Collaborate with MUSC’s CTSA program, cancer center, and other research enterprises to support multi-investigator, multi-site research, and advance precision medicine and genomics technology infrastructure in coordination with clinical informatics, biomedical informatics, and enterprise data platforms.
• Identify and deploy AI and machine learning tools, with appropriate governance and ethical oversight, that enhance research productivity, accelerate discovery, and support cross-mission integration where research and clinical care intersect, including research-informed clinical decision support and embedded research in clinical operations.

Central IS Architecture and Enterprise Alignment

• Serve as the primary liaison between academic and research technology teams and MUSC’s Central IS organization, ensuring all deployments comply with enterprise architecture, identity management, single sign-on, data governance, cybersecurity, and network infrastructure standards.
• Participate in Central IS governance and planning as the voice of the academic and research enterprise, advocating for appropriate infrastructure investment and service levels, and drive rationalization of the application portfolio through disciplined vendor management and technology consolidation.
• Ensure data flows between academic, research, and clinical systems are governed, secure, and compliant, partnering with the enterprise data and analytics organization to maintain data quality and interoperability.

Service Delivery Standardization, Technology Rationalization, and Cybersecurity Enablement

• Partner with Central IS to stand up standardized, tiered service delivery models with clear service catalogs, SLAs, escalation pathways, and ITSM alignment, delineating centrally delivered, co-delivered, and locally owned services across academic and research technology functions.
• Oversee academic and research analytics and lead a technology rationalization program that consolidates redundant platforms and establishes governance gates to prevent net-new duplicative investments, reducing cost and complexity across schools, research institutes, and administrative functions.
• Partner with MUSC’s enterprise cybersecurity organization to extend monitoring, accountability, and a security-first culture across academic and research environments, including SIS, research computing, learning platforms, and data enclaves, ensuring institutional, federal sponsor, and IRB requirements are met.

School and Local IS Partnership

• Build trusted, service-oriented partnerships with Deans, faculty leadership, central finance, and local IS teams across MUSC’s colleges and research institutes through a formal engagement model that standardizes shared services and enterprise adoption while respecting local autonomy.
•  Extend the same structured engagement, demand intake, and responsiveness to research institute directors, core facility leaders, and principal investigators, and systematically track faculty, student, and researcher satisfaction to drive continuous improvement.

Governance, Optimization, and Operational Oversight

• Own the Academic and Research Technology Council as the primary governance body for application prioritization, demand management, and decision-making, with transparent intake processes and capacity planning that balance project, support, and optimization work.
• Ensure SIS and research platform environments maintain high availability, disaster recovery readiness, and compliance with institutional, accreditation, and federal requirements.
• Lead the Academic and Research governance workstream within MUSC’s IS enterprise governance structure, represent the enterprise on architecture review boards, data governance councils, and executive IT steering committees, and give Deans, research leadership, and the Provost’s office visibility into portfolio status, risk, and progress.

Stakeholder Engagement, People Leadership, and Culture

• Serve as a trusted technology advisor and primary liaison between Information Solutions and the academic community, including the CIO, Provost’s office, Deans, research leadership, faculty senates, and statewide partners, and drive faculty and student satisfaction through initiatives that improve system usability and align technology with frontline realities.
• Lead, develop, and inspire the academic technology and research informatics teams, fostering a culture of service excellence, innovation, and mentorship while embodying MUSC’s mission to improve the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

Requirements

Requirements
Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Education Technology, or a related field required.
• Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration, Business Administration, Informatics, Health Informatics, or a related field strongly preferred.
• Advanced degree in a research or clinical discipline with formal informatics or technology leadership training is a meaningful differentiator and preferred, but not required.

Experience

• 10+ years of experience in information technology leadership, with at least 5 years of senior leadership experience in higher education IT, academic medical center environments, or research-intensive institutions.
• Demonstrated experience implementing, optimizing, and managing enterprise Student Information Systems (e.g., Ellucian Banner, PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, Workday Student, or comparable platforms) in a complex higher education setting.
• Demonstrated experience leading research IT programs in a research-intensive academic or clinical environment, including hands-on accountability for research data infrastructure, clinical trial technology, or investigator-facing platforms such as REDCap, research data warehouses, or comparable systems.
• Proven track record leading academic and research technology portfolios with measurable outcomes in system performance, user adoption, and operational improvement.
• Significant experience building collaborative relationships with academic leaders, faculty, researchers, and local or distributed IT teams in complex, matrixed environments.
• Experience leading cross-functional technology initiatives spanning multiple schools, departments, or campuses in a higher education or academic medical center context.
• Experience managing multi-million dollar academic technology budgets and vendor portfolios.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep familiarity with research IT infrastructure, including REDCap, clinical trial management systems, electronic lab notebooks, research data repositories, and high-performance or cloud computing environments.
• Experience supporting NIH-funded research programs, CTSA institutions, NCI-designated cancer centers, or comparable research-intensive environments.
• Familiarity with MUSC’s academic programs, or demonstrated experience in a public university-affiliated academic medical center.
• Knowledge of federal research compliance requirements, including NIH data sharing policies, HIPAA in research contexts, and IRB technology requirements.
• Proficiency with learning management systems (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle), curriculum management tools, and simulation technology platforms.
• Background in or strong working knowledge of research data science, biomedical informatics, or AI/ML applications in academic and research contexts.
• EDUCAUSE leadership experience or professional certifications such as CHCIO, CPHIMS, FCHIME, or FAMIA.

Hybrid:  Candidates should live in the greater Charleston, SC area, but will have the flexibility to work from home as business permits.