Thomas DeChiaro, who most recently served as vice president and chief information officer at Drexel University and Drexel College of Medicine in Philadelphia, joined the Dartmouth community today as interim CIO through 2026.
“Tom DeChiaro is a champion of innovation with deep experience as an information and technology leader in higher education and industry and with a background in cybersecurity,” says . “I am delighted that he has agreed to lead us through this transition, and I hope you will join me in welcoming him to Dartmouth.”
DeChiaro’s appointment comes as Mitch Davis retires after almost eight years as CIO and vice president of .
DeChiaro will lead the ITC team, working to align Dartmouth’s academic, research, and business needs with an ever-evolving information technology landscape.
“If you look at the disruption that’s going on in higher ed today with research funding, the requirements for cybersecurity, and generative AI and how that might be a disruptive force—these are exciting and challenging times,” DeChiaro says. “We’re on the cusp of a technology revolution, and what drew me to Dartmouth is that it’s an institution that is looking to be transformative in this space and that has the resources to experiment.”
A key part of his role will be helping to balance security risks with Dartmouth’s academic mission.
“There’s an ever-increasing risk of cyberattack, especially by state-sponsored hackers looking to steal intellectual property from research institutions. And so there’s a large concern about how universities are protecting themselves,” DeChiaro says. “At the same time, universities exist to advance the open dissemination of information. So you have to balance openness and protecting your assets.”
His approach is to encourage an environment of open dialogue throughout the institution, he says. “Good communication develops trust. We don’t want to inhibit innovation and teaching and learning, and so we need to be engaged and transparent and willing to have some challenging dialogue back and forth.”
Open dialogue also informs his approach to leadership, he says.
“My guiding principles as a leader include respect for the individual and helping everyone on my team be respectful of other opinions. I believe in building trust and empowering people. And I believe in embracing change. There’s a lot of change happening in higher ed, and being open to that is a good thing.”
DeChiaro joined Drexel, which has more than 21,000 students, in 2016. As VP and CIO, he was a member of the president’s cabinet and executive council and was responsible for technology strategy and execution for all of the university’s academic and administrative functions, as well as for the medical school’s clinical practices.
Previously, he served as CIO at Western Connecticut State University, where he earned his MBA and spent two years teaching a graduate-level engineering and computer science management course as an adjunct professor.
A certified project management professional, DeChiaro began his IT career at IBM, where he spent more than a decade, first as an information strategy manager for intellectual property and licensing, then as executive program director for corporate functions. After IBM, he spent four years with international defense contractor D&SCI as senior vice president of the Commercial Systems Group, leading the commercialization strategy for all technology disciplines as well as government relations, intellectual property strategy for more than 50 patent applications, and raising funds for research and development.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in computer and information science from Brooklyn College, part of the City University of New York.
Outside of work, DeChiaro says he has “a passion for wine,” and in 2005 helped transform a 100-year-old historic church in St. George, N.Y., into a winery and wine bar. He also regularly serves as a volunteer adviser for Astia, a venture capital fund that invests in women-led companies.
Davis has agreed to “remain available as a resource into mid-July,” Kotz says.
“I want to thank Mitch for helping to unify information technology at Dartmouth during a period of incredible technological change,” Kotz says. “His contributions have left a lasting impact that we will continue to build upon as ITC and Dartmouth move into our next phase.”
During the search process, DeChiaro met with nearly two dozen members of the faculty and staff from throughout the institution, including Kotz; Alex Diaz, chief compliance officer; Erin DeSilva, associate provost for digital and online learning; Scott Frew, chief financial officer; Tammy Hickox, associate general counsel; Dianne Ingalls ’84, Tuck ’88; Josh Keniston, senior vice president for operations; Adam Kleinbaum, professor of leadership and organizations, Tuck School of Business, and chair of the Council on Computing; Lorie Loeb, research professor of computer science; Dean Madden, vice provost for research; Eugene Santos, professor of engineering, Thayer School of Engineering; Jomysha Delgado Stephen, executive vice president for strategy and special counsel to the president; Kenya Tyson, vice provost for strategic initiatives and innovation; and several members of the ITC leadership team.
