Hector Villicana

Hector VillicanaHigher education & public sector I turn technology strategy into dependable services.

For 25+ years at the University of California I’ve led technology where authority is shared, most recently as Associate CIO for Instruction and Executive Director, Letters and Science IT at UC Santa Barbara.

Discuss a leadership role For search committees & recruiters
Explore advisory work For institutions & public agencies

Goleta / Santa Barbara, CA Open to relocation Updated

Pursuing CIO, Deputy CIO & Associate CIO roles

Portrait of Hector Villicana, smiling, wearing a navy blazer and light blue shirt outdoors.
Most recently Associate CIO for Instruction & Executive Director, Letters and Science IT UC Santa Barbara
  • Enterprise IT strategy
  • Governance where authority is shared
  • Responsible AI adoption
  • Cybersecurity & risk
  • Student & faculty digital experience
  • Research & instructional IT
  • Service operations
  • 25+years of technology leadership at the University of California
  • 50+staff led through five directors
  • $5Mapproximate annual technology portfolio
  • 30,000+users across 55+ departments and units

About

I lead technology in complex public universities.

My work aligns enterprise standards with the specialized needs of teaching, research and student services.

At UC Santa Barbara I held concurrent appointments as Associate CIO for Instruction and Executive Director, Letters and Science IT, leading 50+ technology professionals through five directors and managing an approximately $5 million annual portfolio. Before that I spent more than two decades at UC Davis, starting as an IT student worker in 1996, including fourteen years leading help desk and infrastructure services.

My approach centers on capable teams and trusted partnerships: working with deans, faculty and operational teams to clarify priorities, weigh tradeoffs and build alignment where authority is shared.

Where I focus

  1. Strategy & governance

    Multiyear roadmaps and investment decisions built with deans, faculty and central IT, in a divisional CIO operating model.

  2. AI adoption & responsible use

    Moving AI from experimentation toward governed institutional use, weighing value against privacy, cybersecurity, cost and support capacity.

  3. Cybersecurity & risk

    Security grounded in ISO 27001 and NIST-based practices, with risk translated into consequences senior decision-makers can act on.

  4. Student & faculty digital experience

    Learning platforms, student success tools, mobile access and digital workflows, plus technology in more than 140 classrooms and labs.

  5. Service operations

    ITIL-based service models with clear ownership and measurement, grounded in years of leading help desk and infrastructure teams.

Selected impact

Outcomes at UC Santa Barbara

Each card gives the context, my role and the result. Open “How we did it” for the approach.

Teaching & learning

Directed UCSB’s LMS migration of 8,500 course sites from Moodle to Canvas

  • 8,500course sites migrated to Canvas
  • 38,000+course sites archived, preserving historical grades, activity and student work
Context
A campus-wide learning management system transition for nearly 30,000 users.
My role
Executive lead for Letters and Science IT, the unit that delivered the migration; member of the Canvas Transition Steering Committee.

The implementation team received Silver in the Mojgan Amini Operational Excellence Award at the 2024 UC Tech Awards. UC Tech News

Result
A phased two-year rollout, from committee to pilot to a fall launch, that reached 100% transition with no stragglers and no instructional disruption.
How we did it
  • Phased from committee to pilot to summer to the fall launch, with the bulk of migrations just before that fall quarter
  • Coordinated faculty engagement and communications
  • Integrations and accessibility review
  • Training, vendor management and support readiness

Service operations

IT services from more than 55 departments into one operating model

Context
Technology services had developed independently across more than 55 departments.
My role
Executive Director, Letters and Science IT.
Result
A coordinated ITIL-based operating model with clearer ownership, shared expectations, stronger prioritization and greater accountability, while preserving specialized academic and research capabilities.
How we did it
  • Strengthened service ownership and performance measurement
  • Clearer communication, customer feedback and follow-through
  • Portfolio and governance practices that made priorities, costs and risks visible

Student success

Directed the Salesforce Student Success Hub across more than 50 departments

Context
Advising and student-service processes were fragmented across departments.
My role
Directed implementation, with common governance for ownership, access and data quality.
Result
A shared environment integrated with institutional systems, supported by common governance.
How we did it
  • Common governance for ownership, access and data quality
  • Integration requirements and reporting
  • Privacy and operational support

Responsible AI

Served on the UCSB AI Advisory Committee and developed responsible and ethical AI use guidelines

Context
Academic, research and administrative leaders weighing AI strategy, governance and institutional use.
My role
Committee member; developed responsible and ethical AI use guidelines; led the pilot large language model service.
Result
Helped move promising experimentation toward governed institutional use.
How we did it
  • Translated faculty requirements into infrastructure and access models
  • Responsible-use guidance, support practices and service ownership
  • Evaluation measures covering privacy, cybersecurity, cost and sustainability

Cybersecurity & risk

Cybersecurity oversight for five additional academic IT groups

Context
Distributed academic IT organizations supporting 93 percent of UCSB faculty.
My role
Cybersecurity and risk leader for the academic division, escalating through the institutional CISO.
Result
Directed implementation of University of California security requirements, grounded in ISO 27001 and NIST-based practices, across the academic division.
How we did it
  • Risk assessment, endpoint detection and response, vulnerability remediation
  • Audit response, access governance and procurement review
  • Staff security education, business continuity and disaster recovery

Student digital experience

Championed UCSB’s first enterprise student mobile app

Context
Institution-wide responsibility for instructional technology and the student digital experience.
My role
Executive champion for the app as Associate CIO for Instruction.
Result
UCSB’s first enterprise student mobile application.

Process improvement

Created a process improvement team and led digital transformation through DocuSign

Context
Business and academic offices, including Finance, Human Resources, Administrative Services, the Library, Summer Sessions and academic units.
My role
Created the process improvement team; led the director-level Project Management Office and Process Improvement function and university-wide workflow modernization through DocuSign.
Result
Electronic forms and digital approvals across business and academic offices.
How we did it
  • Process redesign with business and academic offices
  • DocuSign workflows, electronic forms and integrations
  • Communications and adoption support

Also

  • Modernized academic advising.
  • Directed the student IT help desk.
  • Chaired the Letters and Science student technology fee committee.

Work together

Two ways to work together

Search committees and institutions need different things. Here is what each can expect, and how to take the next step.

For search committees & executive recruiters

Leadership roles

What I bring

  • Seven years as a divisional technology executive at UC Santa Barbara, partnering with the campus CIO, deans, faculty and researchers.
  • Enterprise delivery: campus-wide Canvas, the Salesforce Student Success Hub across 50+ departments, and an ITIL-based operating model across 55+ departments.
  • Cybersecurity oversight grounded in ISO 27001 and NIST-based practices, and a seat on the UCSB AI Advisory Committee.

Roles I’m pursuing

CIO Deputy CIO Associate CIO

In higher education and the public sector.

Next step

Discuss a leadership role

For institutions, agencies & organizations

AI strategy & technology advisory

Helping organizations move from AI curiosity to practical, governed, useful adoption.

  • AI strategy & readiness

    Useful opportunities, organizational readiness, governance and a practical adoption roadmap.

  • Agentic AI & workflow transformation

    Where agents make sense, with controls around data, access, security and accountability.

  • AI education & executive advisory

    Briefings and workshops on what AI can do, what it can’t, and what to ask.

  • AI & technology procurement

    Requirements, vendor evaluation, RFPs, proofs of concept and build-versus-buy decisions.

  • Technology strategy & fractional CIO

    Broader technology strategy, and ongoing advisory for organizations without a full-time CIO.

Explore AI advisory Schedule an initial conversation

Experience

25+ years across the University of California

Titles and dates follow my resume. Open any role for highlights.

  1. –

    Associate CIO for Instruction

    University of California, Santa Barbara Concurrent appointment

    Student Digital Experience, Enterprise Strategy & Cybersecurity

    Highlights
    • Institution-wide responsibility for instructional technology and the student digital experience, including technology in more than 140 classrooms and labs.
    • Championed UCSB’s first enterprise student mobile application.
    • Created a process improvement team and led university-wide digital transformation through DocuSign with business and academic offices.
    • Cybersecurity and risk leader for the academic division, implementing UC security requirements grounded in ISO 27001 and NIST-based practices.

  2. –

    Executive Director, Letters and Science IT

    University of California, Santa Barbara

    Enterprise, Research and Instructional IT Services & Operations

    50+ staff through five directors · ~$5M annual portfolio · 55+ departments and units · 30,000+ users

    Highlights
    • Led five directors responsible for Client Success, Instructional Services, Infrastructure, Process Improvement, and Finance and Human Resources.
    • Brought IT services from more than 55 departments into a coordinated ITIL-based operating model, and led a pilot large language model service for researchers.
    • Managed the Campus Office of Software Licensing, a recharge-supported operation exceeding $1M annually.

  3. –

    Director, Help Desk and Infrastructure Lead

    University of California, Davis

    10 direct reports · ~$2M operating budget · 35,000+ users

    Highlights
    • Led service desk, infrastructure, end-user computing, virtualization, and public library and VPN access for more than 35,000 users and patrons.
    • Developed business continuity and disaster recovery plans for critical academic and administrative systems.
    • Led implementation and support of the Alma and Primo SaaS platforms, expanding digital access to scholarly resources.

  4. –

    Help Desk Manager, Library

    University of California, Davis

    Highlights
    • Managed help desk, desktop support, systems administration, infrastructure and public computing services.
    • Expanded virtual computing and software-as-a-service capabilities to improve accessibility, scalability and security.

  5. –

    Earlier technology and administrative roles

    University of California, Davis

    Highlights
    • IT Student Worker, IT Support Technician, Human Resources Web Developer, Lecturer, and Assistant Editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association.
    • Provided end-user, desktop, systems and web support, and developed web-based services for departmental business processes.

Contact

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