What area do you work in within the VPFA portfolio?
Information Services
What is your current position, and what are your job responsibilities?
I am currently a senior director leading User Support Services. We provide technology support and computer management services to over 80% of campus. My responsibilities are to oversee the entire portfolio. I have five director-level professionals reporting to me, who run our service desk, regional support teams, and endpoint management. Our Knowledge Manager, who manages our public and private knowledge bases, also reports to me.
What has been your career path; how did you end up in your current position?
Prior to my technology career I spent a dozen or so years in the restaurant and hospitality industry, so I have been in customer-facing roles for as long as I can remember. After earning a degree in Biology, and struggling to find a career, my mother helped me purchase my first computer in the early 90s and I loved figuring out how it works. This is way back in the days of modems and floppy disks. Eventually I found a job in tech support in a call center, then I moved to Eugene and stumbled into a career with the software company Symantec, where I was able to move around and learn a lot about technology and management. Unfortunately, I was outsourced after 12 years and found myself here at the UO working at the Tech Desk. After a year or so I became the IT Director at the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, now the College of Design. When Transform IT became a thing, I got involved with that and was hired into my current position building out User Support Services.
How has working at UO enabled your professional goals and interests?
Working in higher education naturally reinforced my desires for continual learning both inside and outside my career. Being the IT Director at the College of Design was fantastic as it allowed me to build many relationships with the people we support and within our own organization. I also had a great interest in architecture, as at one point in time I thought of pursuing that as a career, and I found it ironic that I found that job.
What do you like about your current position?
The best part of my current position is working with a great team of leaders here in USS and supporting faculty and staff with diverse and interesting research and academic pursuits.
Please share some insight into what your job involves.
The biggest thing I had to solve, and I did not do this alone, was bring together 15 distributed IT departments to create User Support Services and work with all of the departments to earn their trust that we were still here to help them with their technology needs.
What advice do you have for someone thinking of applying to the UO?
The University is a unique institution, with many unique schools, colleges, departments, etc., which all have their own processes and needs. Depending on the role, I always recommend people come in with an open mind and take the time to learn about work culture and environment. Do not work in a silo; build relationships.
Share a little about yourself:
- Family – I live with my wife Kathy and our pup Rosie. My wife is a local, I am not.
- Favorite food – Ribeye steak (with red potatoes and broccoli). A slice of pizza from NYC is a close second.
- Best movie you’ve seen – I took a class once called Sound Film Genres. Great elective. We studied Godfather a lot; to me it is one of the best movies ever made. Current favorite though is Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
If you could only take three items with you to a deserted island, what would they be?
Some music to listen to, my golf bag (clubs and balls), and an acoustic guitar.
How do you want to be remembered?
Funny you should ask, I am retiring at the end of August. I want to be remembered as a good teammate/supervisor, someone you could rely upon and have a good laugh with even when the work was hard.
If you could have the answer to any question, what would it be?
I got nothing. With the internet and AI these days I feel like I can ask any question and get some sort of answer.
(July 2026)