SMU Leader Michael Hites Named to CIO Hall of Fame

DALLAS (SMU) – Michael Hites, chief information officer at SMU, has been named to the prestigious CIO Hall of Fame, honoring his exceptional contributions to information technology management. Foundry’s CIO Hall of Fame recognizes executives who have significantly impacted the role during their tenure of 10 or more years in a CIO or other C-level technology position across various organizations.

Hites will be inducted Aug. 7 in Colorado Springs as part of CIO’s annual CIO 100 Symposium and Awards conference.

“I am deeply humbled by this acknowledgment from CIO,” Hites said. “Throughout my career, I have been focused on access to technology for everyone. Many of my projects have been about providing network bandwidth in remote locations, enhancing interdisciplinary education, and making research computing available to everyone – students, faculty, and staff. Nowhere has that been more important than at SMU, where I have truly enjoyed working with students who are learning to meet corporate and societal needs in a data-driven world.”

Leading the Office of Information Technology, Hites manages a team of around 135 individuals who assist in every aspect of University operations, from business applications to computational research and classroom support. Since joining SMU in 2017 as Chief Information Officer, Hites has overseen the university’s high-performance computing initiatives, including the installation of the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD, specifically designed for artificial intelligence research.

“Michael’s expertise and leadership have significantly propelled SMU’s technological strengths in teaching, research, and institutional programs,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “He joined our University at a time when big data was exploding, and his focus has helped drive our commitment to computational research.”

Only six other university administrators have been inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame since 1997 – CIOs from Duke University, Harvard University, University of California at San Diego, Fordham University, Arizona State University, and Washington State University.

Hites began his career at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1996, where he served as assistant to the dean for computing (1996-97), assistant dean for computing and research assistant professor (1997-98), and director, Computing and Network Services (1998-2000). He also served as chief technology officer from 2000-03.

He continued his career at New Mexico State University (NMSU) from 2003-08, starting as vice provost for information and technology services and CIO (2003-06). As vice president for planning and IT and CIO from 2006-08, he worked with deans, directors, students, faculty, executive leadership, and the Board of Regents to plan, implement, and measure IT programs and services across NMSU’s five-campus system, as well as assisting other governmental and educational entities in New Mexico.

After that, he served as the associate vice president for administrative IT services (2008-17) and executive CIO (2011-12) at the University of Illinois System.

Hites holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona (1989), an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1992), and a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (1997).

Find more information on CIO and the CIO Hall of Fame Awards here.

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