University IT Leader Selected Vice President, Chief Information Officer

Frank Feagans has been promoted to vice president for information technology and chief information officer at UT Dallas.

Previously an associate vice president for information technology, Feagans has 35 years of experience in IT. He reports to President Richard C. Benson and is responsible for the overall leadership of the Office of Information Technology, which includes infrastructure services, enterprise application services, networking and telecommunication services, and technology customer services.

Feagans replaces David Crain, who in August accepted the position of associate vice chancellor for shared information services for The University of Texas System. Brian Dourty has been serving on an interim basis.

“Brian has shown strong dedication the past several months, and I thank him for his excellent service during this period of transition,” Benson said.

Benson noted there were several talented applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences, and he admired the individual qualities each finalist had to offer and their desire to serve the UT Dallas community.

Feagans’ mission for the Office of Information Technology is to provide innovative, collaborative and valuable IT services that support the University’s strategic goals.

“I want the office to be the IT partner of choice that students, faculty and staff seek out in order to assist the University in advancing research, raising student success, enhancing learning, improving productivity, expanding collaboration and attracting world-class talent,” he said.

Feagans joined UT Dallas in 2015 as the director of research computing shared services. In early 2016, he became the associate vice president of enterprise applications and research computing services.

In 2016, Feagans oversaw the installment of the first local shared high-performance computing cluster at UT Dallas — appropriately named Ganymede after the largest moon of Jupiter and in the solar system.

Feagans has led all aspects of IT, including application development, research, architecture, infrastructure, operations, project management and client services. Prior to UT Dallas, Feagans was a senior IT leader at the University of Arizona. During his four years there, Feagans led IT’s role in implementing innovative learning spaces and hybrid learning in classrooms.

Before entering higher education, he worked in private industry IT leadership roles, including 11 years with McDonald’s Corp., four years with McDonald’s global supply chain integrator, and two years with U.S. Cellular.

A native of Illinois, he earned a master’s degree in computer science and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Feagans serves as a regular guest instructor at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, teaching business ethics.

Benson said information technology will play a key role in the future success across all aspects of the campus.

“The VPIT/CIO is charged with providing strategic vision and leadership to meet the information technology demands of a Tier One institution,” Benson said. “Frank will serve as a valued member of the University’s executive leadership team, working in partnership with administrators, deans, vice presidents, faculty, staff and students, the UT System, and our community partners and supporters to advance our mission.

“I look forward to Frank’s leadership in promoting a strong sense of teamwork and cooperation across the UT Dallas community that will enable future growth and success in research computing as well as operational business needs.”