Architect of Information

Matthew Hall has joined UC Santa Barbara as associate vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer, after spending years as an information technology leader both in and out of academia.

He also spent 2,500 miles on a motorcycle to get here. Hall came to Santa Barbara from Tennessee in late September.

“I am thrilled to be back in higher education at an institution the caliber of UC Santa Barbara,” Hall said.  “The culture, the mission, the people and the collaboration found at a university are things I sorely missed. The newly reconceived role of the Chief Information Officer at UCSB allows us to look across all dimensions of the campus IT landscape and assure that we are collectively meeting the needs of our teaching, research, learning and student life missions. I can’t wait to get deeply engaged with the campus community.”

“By designating the CIO role as a leader in federated information technology across the campus, we can leverage the collective centers of expertise and the specialties of every unit at UCSB,” Hall added. “A robust IT leadership group will be developed to explore service needs, research infrastructure and information protection.”

Hall’s extensive and varied experience includes more than seven years as an associate vice chancellor and associate chief information architect at Vanderbilt University. Working closely with faculty, staff, students and alumni, he developed the institution’s enterprise network computing and technical architecture framework while overseeing network computing operations as well as identity, security, architecture, data center, telephony and collaboration platforms.

During his time at Vanderbilt, Hall also taught courses in both the computer science and English departments.

In addition to his university experience, Hall was assistant director and CIO for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, where he oversaw information systems and technology platforms, as well as security and infrastructure operations. Earlier in his career, he was senior vice president and business technology executive for the Bank of America Global Corporate Investment Bank.

Before coming to UCSB, Hall was serving as an account executive with the Microsoft Corporation, overseeing a portfolio that includes Fortune 500 media and entertainment, manufacturing and healthcare.

Hall received a bachelor of arts degree in international studies and cultural anthropology from the University of South Florida, and a master of arts degree in international affairs from Florida State University. He has a certificate of professional development from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a graduate teaching certificate from Vanderbilt. His record of professional activity includes serving on the Google College Advisory Board, the AT&T Higher Education Advisory Board, the Sprint Academic Advisory Board and the Microsoft Unified Communication Advisory Council.

Hall takes up the reins from Denise Stephens, who since October 2013 served as acting CIO in addition to her continuing role as university librarian.