Biography

Michael Hites serves as Chief Information Officer for the Southern Methodist University.  

In his role as CIO, Dr. Hites provides leadership, coordination, and strategy for information technology services in support of the mission of the University. Specifically, this includes IT for teaching and learning, online programs, enterprise software, research, high performance computing, and school-level IT support.

Previously, Dr. Hites served as the Senior Associate Vice President for AITS at the University of Illinois System where he oversaw IT strategic planning and provided direction in the development of enterprise administrative systems.  Dr. Hites has held various senior IT leadership positions of increasing responsibility before joining the University of Illinois in 2008. He was the Vice President for Planning and Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for New Mexico State University from 2003 to 2008 and Chief Technology Officer and Research Assistant Professor for Illinois Institute of Technology from 2000-2003.

In addition to leading large IT organizations at four universities, Dr. Hites has previous NSF grants and has consulted for research universities and not-for- profit organizations. He led the development of an under-40 statewide leadership program and helped start a university-wide curriculum in interprofessional projects. He has taught courses in fluid mechanics and engineering measurements, supervised more than 25 multi-disciplinary student projects, and has been an invited speaker for conferences and corporate retreats. Dr. Hites has also led institutional research, library services, online education services, and strategic planning for several universities. He is a former board member for both the Society for College and University Planning and Leadership New Mexico and one of Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders.

Dr. Hites holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.