About CITEC

Charge Letter and Membership

April 25, 2017

To help The University of Texas at Austin better align our long-term budgetary strategies in support of our research and educational mission, I have named an advisory commission to begin a thorough evaluation of the Information Technology Services (ITS) departmental budget. The Central IT Executive Commission (CITEC) is charged with providing a view to recommend an appropriate budget scale and scope within central IT and identify savings opportunities.

Co-chaired by Dr. Linda Hicke, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, and Dr. Dan Stanzione, executive director of the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), the 14-member commission includes academic and administrative representatives from across the University and also will specifically endeavor to:

1. Identify immediate opportunities for savings in central IT service offerings
2. Determine which IT services will be maintained by central IT (e.g., common good, service centers) and establish clear guidance for future IT services resulting from growth, evolution, etc., including:
   • Developing standards around how service rates are established and communicated
   • Developing standards for federated IT operations
3. Develop a sustainability model for central IT to ensure budget and resources exist to effectively support and operate all central IT service offerings
4. Provide recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness of existing governance of central IT

“As an advisory body to the Office of the Senior Vice President and CFO, CITEC efforts will focus on how to steward IT resources prudently and responsibly to build an efficient, sustainable model that ensures our University remains at the forefront of using innovative information technology to advance the mission of the institution, while living within our financial means,” said Stanzione.

“In addition, this task force collaboration will provide a thoughtful review of the data from a fact-based perspective so we may deliver recommendations that will ensure that the University is supported and enhanced by strong, state-of-the art information technology going forward,” said Hicke.

CITEC will engage the campus community as it works through fulfilling its charges. This will include convening stakeholders to help prioritize central IT services and collaboratively identifying potential savings. Those recommendations will then be vetted by a broader campus audience to ensure sound plans are in place and ongoing support for impacted central IT service offerings are appropriate.

The commission has my full confidence and support, as well as the support of our interim CIO Mike Cunningham and the ITS staff. We are grateful for the CITEC members’ time and valuable contribution to this important work and look forward to hearing their IT budget and service array recommendations in the near future.

Darrell Bazzell

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

CITEC Membership