Enterprise Chief Information Officer Brian T. Nichols

Brian Nichols was named Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the University of Kentucky (UK) in 2016. In this capacity, he provides leadership, collaboratively guiding investment in and support of IT infrastructure and services that leverage the resources of the enterprise to create strategic, scalable, and sustainable information technology capabilities. Nichols has direct responsibility for the IT resources at UK, partnering with leaders and the University community in the identification of opportunities to enhance the significant strengths of the institution.

Prior to his current role, he served as Associate Vice President (AVP) for Administration and Information Technology (IT) & CIO at Louisiana State University (LSU). In this capacity, Nichols led a department with a $60 million budget and had oversight over enterprise-wide information technology at Louisiana’s flagship, public research campus.

Nichols has over 25-years of experience in higher education, holding a number of key leadership positions including Chief IT Security and Policy Officer, Executive Director of Administrative Services and Risk Management, and various other roles in administration and finance, operations, application development, information systems, user support, audit, disaster recovery, emergency operations, and telecommunications.

Nichols holds a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and a master’s degree in Management Information Systems from LSU. He holds key security certifications, including a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) in addition to the CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor), CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), CRMA (Certified in Risk Management Assurance), and CRISC (Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control) certifications. Nichols is involved in various efforts in the higher education community, including EDUCAUSE, Internet2, and RUCC. He was a member of the 2008 Frye Leadership Institute held at Emory University.