Texas Higher Education IT Leadership Summit 2025
Overview
2025 Texas Higher Education IT Leadership Summit: Planning for the Future of Technology in Higher Education
Colleges and universities in Texas, like those across the country, are at a transformative moment. As they adapt to shifting demographics, evolving student needs, and changing funding models, the role of technology has never been more essential—or full of opportunity. IT leaders are uniquely positioned to help their colleges and universities thrive by enabling innovation, advancing data-informed decision-making, and improving institutional and student outcomes.
The 2025 Higher Education IT Leadership Summit brings together senior technology and institutional leaders for a day of strategic exchange, peer learning, and collaborative exploration. The Summit agenda reflects the priorities identified by the Advisory Board, offering a balance of strategic insight and practical relevance. While the full agenda will span a range of leadership and operational topics, the Summit is grounded in the issues top of mind for today’s higher education CIOs. These include building digital trust; data and technology governance; modernizing systems; IT organizational models and decision-making structures; aligning AI and data strategies with institutional priorities and mission; navigating the evolving cybersecurity and risk landscape; and strengthening the IT staff talent pipeline. A key focus of this year’s summit is the opportunity—and necessity—to take a fresh look at legacy infrastructure, systems, and policies that have evolved over time. Aligning these foundational elements with today’s institutional strategies is critical to ensuring that IT remains affordable, agile, and sustainable for the future.
These priorities—whether addressed in sessions, panels, or conversations throughout the day—will shape the dialogue and can lead to meaningful relationships afterwards. This Summit is a platform for fresh thinking and actionable solutions. Attendees will leave informed, inspired and equipped to elevate IT as a driver of institutional agility, academic excellence, and long-term success in a dynamic digital landscape.
Participants are encouraged to come ready to share their real-world challenges, engage actively in sessions, and contribute to a collaborative, solution-focused environment.
Who Should Attend
Senior and emerging IT leaders in higher education including, CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, Deputy CIOs/CTOs, IT Directors, System Managers, and those leading digital transformation, infrastructure, and learning technology initiatives.
Summit Objectives
• Foster Collaboration: Connect locally with higher ed IT leaders to exchange strategies, insights, and best practices in a face-to-face, peer-driven environment.
• Showcase Innovation: Explore real-world examples of how technology is transforming teaching, learning, and campus operations.
• Develop Leadership: Gain practical guidance and peer insights to grow leadership skills and advance both career and institutional goals.
• Tackle Top Challenges: Dive into critical topics like AI, system modernization, cybersecurity, privacy, cloud scalability, and managing limited budgets.
• Explore What’s Next: Discover future trends in higher ed tech and how they’ll shape IT strategy, workforce needs, and institutional success.
Why Attend
• Designed for You: Free for higher education professionals. Sized for meaningful engagement—limited to 60 invited attendees.
• Local & Convenient: Held in-state to eliminate costly travel and time away.
• Expert Insights: Hear directly from thought leaders, colleagues, and practitioners on pressing IT challenges and innovations.
• High-Value Networking: Build lasting connections with peers, partners, and potential collaborators in a focused, in-person setting.
Speakers
Jorge Cardenas
Chief Information Officer, City of Brownsville, State of Texas
Jorge Cardenas is a technology executive with over 22 years of experience in digital transformation across public and private sectors. As Chief Information Officer for the City of Brownsville, Texas, he leads smart city initiatives, broadband expansion, and digital equity efforts, making Brownsville a model for municipal innovation.
A U.S. Marine veteran, Jorge has modernized IT infrastructure at over 28 military bases worldwide, led multimillion-dollar IT deployments, and built advanced Network and Security Operations Centers. His work aligns technology investments with long-term organizational goals.
Jorge has leveraged over 100 miles of city-owned middle-mile fiber to expand high-speed broadband, drive digital inclusion, and attract economic development in Brownsville. His leadership has enabled transformative projects in public safety, transportation, IoT integration, and citizen engagement.
He holds an MBA from the Jack Welch Management Institute and top industry certifications, including PMP, CISM, and ITIL. Known for bridging technology and mission, Jorge is dedicated to building sustainable, connected, and inclusive futures.
Gabe Perez
Sr. Director Systems Engineering, West, Fortinet
Gabe Perez is the Sr. Director, Systems Engineering – US SLED West at Fortinet, where he has been an integral part of the team for over 5 years. With more than 25 years of industry experience, including over 15 years in cybersecurity. Gabe brings a deep technical background and strategic leadership to the organization. His expertise spans network security, systems engineering, and delivering innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of customers. Gabe is passionate about evangelizing cyber security solutions and helping organizations strengthen their cybersecurity posture in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
Agenda
Thursday, November 20 |
|
8:00 am Central |
Registration and Continental BreakfastGuadalupe Foyer |
8:30 am Central |
Opening RemarksGuadalupe RoomBrian Cohen, Vice President, Center for Digital Education |
8:45 am Central |
From Vision to Value: Crafting the Why and What of an Institutional AI StrategyGuadalupe RoomAI is reshaping higher education, but without a unifying vision, investments risk becoming fragmented, costly, and misaligned with institutional goals. This session will focus on the why and what of AI: why it matters for mission outcomes such as student success, research competitiveness, and workforce readiness, and what principles and goals should guide adoption. Leaders will discuss governance, ethics, and cybersecurity as essential guardrails, while elevating the conversation to provosts, boards, and research leadership. The session will also highlight how institutions can collaborate through consortia and shared strategies to reinforce a stronger statewide vision. Key Session Take-Aways: Why AI must be linked directly to institutional mission outcomes What governance, ethics, and cybersecurity guardrails should shape institutional AI strategies Why vision-setting must involve provosts, boards, and research leadership, not just IT What shared approaches can add scale, efficiency, and alignment Why clarity of purpose prevents fragmented, costly, and duplicative investments Moderator: Brian Cohen, Vice President, Center for Digital Education Cole Camplese, Vice President for Technology and CIO, The University of Texas at Austin Frank Feagans, Vice President of IT and Chief Information Officer, University of Texas – Dallas |
9:45 am Central |
Networking Break |
10:00 am Central |
Frameworks and Roadmaps: Turning AI Vision into 12–24 Month Action PlansGuadalupe RoomOnce an institutional vision is established, the challenge becomes execution. This session will focus on the how and where of AI: how to turn strategy into 12–24-month roadmaps and where to prioritize investments across academic, research, and administrative areas. Speakers will share frameworks for sequencing projects, integrating with infrastructure, and setting milestones and ownership. Special attention will be given to faculty engagement, workforce readiness, and cybersecurity, showing how these elements can make or break implementation. Participants will leave with concrete ideas for building scalable, structured playbooks that bring AI vision to life. Key Session Take-Aways: How to translate vision into structured, 12–24-month roadmaps with milestones and accountability Where to prioritize AI use cases across teaching, research, and administration How to balance experimentation with scalability and integration into core infrastructure How to engage faculty and prepare staff for evolving roles in an AI-enabled campus Where cybersecurity, change management, and governance must be embedded to ensure sustainability Moderator: Helen Mohrmann, Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Education |
11:00 am Central |
Dollars and Sense: Sustainable Funding Models for AI and Digital TransformationGuadalupe RoomThe promise of AI is clear, but the funding challenge is universal: technology costs rarely end with implementation. Universities must plan for infrastructure renewal, recurring licenses, and the evolving demands of AI and digital transformation. This session will explore sustainable approaches to funding, including multi-year budgeting, procurement innovations, ROI models for board approval, and strategies that blend institutional budgets, grants, philanthropy, and consortia. CIOs, CFOs, and procurement leaders will share examples of funding frameworks that avoid short-term fixes and align investments with long-term institutional goals. Key Session Take-Aways: Funding strategies that address recurring renewal costs and multi-year affordability Models for aligning investments with institutional mission and ROI expectations Approaches to combine funding sources: institutional budgets, grants, philanthropy, and partnerships Procurement innovations and shared purchasing models to maximize resources How to position AI and IT investments for board approval and long-term sustainability Moderator: Brian Cohen, Vice President, The Center for Digital Education Adrienne Garber, Chief Technology & Innovation Strategist, Dell Technologies Stephanie McCane, Assistant Vice President for Business Operations and Services, University of Texas at Dallas |
12:00 pm Central |
Lunch and NetworkingGuadalupe Room |
1:00 pm Central |
Cybersecurity Now: Threats, Tools, and the Road Ahead for Texas Higher EducationGuadalupe RoomWith cyber threats growing in scale and sophistication, Texas higher education institutions remain prime targets — facing everything from ransomware to nation-state actors and increasingly AI-driven attacks. This session brings together experts from the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), industry security leaders, and Texas higher education CIOs to provide a multi-layered view of today’s challenges and strategies being used. The panel will discuss the current threat landscape, evolving tactics of threat actors, and the dual use of AI in both defense and offense. The conversation will highlight opportunities for Texas institutions to collaborate through shared threat intelligence, incident response partnerships, and statewide resources. Practical tools and strategies will be discussed for improving institutional readiness, resilience, and recovery, ensuring that cybersecurity remains a strategic priority across the Texas higher education ecosystem. Key Session Take-Aways: The current threat landscape facing Texas higher education, including AI-enabled attacks and ransomware trends Tools and practices institutions can deploy now to strengthen readiness and resilience How Texas institutions can leverage MS-ISAC, statewide networks, and industry partnerships for faster response and shared defense The importance of incident response playbooks, tabletop exercises, and continuity planning tailored for higher education How boards, CIOs, and CISOs can align around cybersecurity as a strategic and budget priority, not just a compliance requirement Heather Doxon, Regional Engagement Manager, MS-ISAC Gabe Perez, Sr. Director Systems Engineering, West, Fortinet |
2:00 pm Central |
Beyond Compliance: Managing Risk, Cybersecurity, and Institutional ContinuityGuadalupe RoomTechnology and cyber risks are increasingly shaping institutional decision-making. This interactive session will focus on building comprehensive risk and continuity frameworks that go beyond compliance checklists. Leaders will discuss how to define institutional risk appetite, assess third-party/vendor risk, and develop continuity playbooks for outages, cyber incidents, and other disruptions. The session will also explore the foundational role of data quality and governance in both risk management and AI strategy. Practical tools for drafting risk-tolerance statements, continuity plans, and cyber incident playbooks will be shared. Key Session Take-Aways: How to define and formalize institutional risk tolerance frameworks Why resilient infrastructure — including indoor wireless coverage and connectivity — is critical for continuity, emergency response, and sustainable AI services Methods for assessing and mitigating vendor and third-party risk Best practices for continuity and tabletop planning across diverse scenarios The role of cybersecurity resilience as part of institutional continuity Why data governance and data quality are essential to risk management and AI readiness Moderator: Brian Cohen, Vice President, The Center for Digital Education Cristina Blanton, HIPAA Privacy Counsel & Officer, The University of Texas System |
3:00 pm Central |
Wrap Up & Closing RemarksGuadalupe RoomBrian Cohen, Vice President, The Center for Digital Education Helen Mohrmann, Senior Fellow, The Center for Digital Education |
3:30 pm Central |
End of ConferenceConference times, agenda, and speakers are subject to change. |
AT&T Hotel and Conference Center
1900 University Ave
Austin, TX 78705
5124041900
AT&T Hotel and Conference Center
Advisory Board
Education Representatives
Greg Brandenburg
Vice President for Information Technology & Chief Information Officer
Information Technology
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Deepika Chalemela
Chief Information Officer
Office of Information Technology
The University of Texas at Arlington
Frank Feagans
Chief Information Officer
Office of Information Technology
The University of Texas at Dallas
Nassos Galiopoulos
Chief Technology Officer and Deputy Chief Information Officer
University Technology Solutions
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Kendra Ketchum
Vice President for Information Management and Technology
University Technology Solutions
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Ben Lim
Chief Information Officer
Information Technology Services
Trinity University
Lin Zhou
Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Information Technology
Texas Tech University
Registration Information / Contact Us
Event Date: November 20, 2025
Open to higher education institutions only.
Registration - Free
If you represent a Private Sector organization and are interested in Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Heather Earney.
This event is open to all individuals who meet the eligibility criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, age, disability, or any other protected class. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all participants.
Contact Information
Need help registering, or have general event questions? Contact:
Sherri Tidwell
Center for Digital Education
A division of e.Republic
Phone: (916) 932-1382
E-mail: stidwell@erepublic.com
Already a sponsor, but need a hand? Reach out to:
Mireya Gaton
Center for Digital Education
A Division of e.Republic
Phone: (916) 296-2617
E-mail: mgaton@erepublic.com
Want to sponsor and stand out? Reach out to explore opportunities!
Heather Earney
Center for Digital Education
A Division of e.Republic
Phone: (916) 365-2308
E-mail: heather.earney@erepublic.com