Major New Appointments

• Nicol Lewis was hired as the new chief information security officer effective June 1, 2026.
• Julie Swann’s role as part-time interim assistant vice chancellor for Research Computing and Data (RCD) was extended for a second year.
• Eric Sills shifted roles into interim chief technology officer for RCD and continues to serve as assistant vice chancellor for Shared Services.
• Taylor Lundy was hired into the assistant vice chancellor for Business Services position.

Awards for Excellence

Three staff members have received OIT’s 2026 Awards for Excellence.

Marc Hoit, vice chancellor for information technology, presented the awards to Gabriella Ferguson, Keyta Kemp and Rebecca Sitton on March 20. The Awards for Excellence recognize employees whose outstanding accomplishments go above and beyond their normal job responsibilities.

Ferguson

Ferguson was nominated for her cybersecurity awareness leadership and creativity. As a Cybersecurity Awareness Team member, she consistently comes to the group with fresh ideas to strengthen cybersecurity education.

In 2024, Ferguson led the first annual Cyber Bowl, a month-long awareness competition that has since grown from three universities to eight and continues to garner more interest. This statewide event, which had 9,200 participants last year, requires extensive coordination with internal and external partners and has enhanced NC State’s reputation as a leader in cybersecurity.

Ferguson also coordinates the university’s mandatory Data Security Training for employees. From developing the script and video to managing technology integrations, she always keeps the audience in mind. Making this training digestible for a broad audience is critical to OIT’s efforts to decrease successful phishing, protect data and mitigate institutional risk, and build trust among the campus community.

“I’m so grateful for Gabbi’s hard work, dedication and the creativity she brings to every project. She is such a deserving recipient of this award,” said Katie McInerney, Design, Education and Outreach manager, who nominated Ferguson.

Kemp

Kemp collaborates with departments across campus to create and maintain eStores that comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. In 2025, she supported more than 70,000 secure credit card transactions.

She recently assisted the Institute for Transportation Research and Education in overhauling the eStore pages for their North Carolina Local Technical Assistance Program (NC LTAP). She also helped reimagine their reporting after the pages were finalized.

From start to finish, Kemp was a true guide throughout the process. She was patient, clear and committed to meeting the program’s deadline. She encouraged them to think through possible solutions to meet their needs, never letting “no” be an answer.

“Keyta consistently goes above and beyond to make sure all issues get resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible. Whenever I reach out to her for assistance, I always have confidence that things will go smoothly thanks to her,” said nominator Ray Narvaez, NC LTAP program manager.

Sitton

As NC State moves toward meeting new federal accessibility standards, Sitton is leading the way. Her tireless work to ensure all digital content is accessible demonstrates her dedication to making university resources available to everyone. And that work isn’t just about compliance — it’s about positioning the university as a leader and a model for accessibility among its peers.

Sitton takes a relationship-driven approach that is essential to success in a decentralized environment like NC State. She spearheads the Digital Accessibility Working Group and collaborates with leadership, instructors, content creators and developers. These efforts ensure institutional buy-in and help integrate accessibility standards into design and governance.

Sitton also launched Learn It, Audit It, Improve It, a campuswide initiative to support the community on their path to compliance. She has provided training on roles, responsibilities and digital accessibility fundamentals, as well as resources to help groups assess their digital environments and address issues.

“Rebecca embodies the Think and Do spirit by transforming complex federal mandates into a universitywide mission that ensures NC State’s digital landscape is accessible to everyone, everywhere,” said Kim Vassiliadis, assistant vice chancellor for Outreach, Communications and Consulting, who nominated Sitton.

IT Community Awards

During the Annual NC State IT Community Awards ceremony held on March 2, several OIT employees were recognized for making a significant collaborative impact at NC State in the following categories:

Rising Star Award

Operational Excellence Team Award

Pride of the Wolfpack Awards

The 2025-26 Pride of the Wolfpack Award winners were:

• Delecia Burggraff
• Eric Campbell
• Tony Copeland
• Lela Fairchild
• Matt Hawkins
• Mary Kanne
• Doug Lewis
• Taylor Lundy
• Balaji Parthasarathy
• Lee Pipkin
• Eric Poirier
• Hamza Sadat
• Samson Teshome

The award honors staff members who make significant contributions to improving the services, systems and experiences of OIT as well as the university community.

T.O.A.S.T. Awards

The 2025-26 recipients for the Totally Outstanding Attitude, Service and Talent Award are:

• Trevor Albrecht
• Damon Armour
• Anu Battula
• Mardecia Bell
• Brandon Bouché
• Chris Bradsher
• Charles Brumley
• TJ Buffaloe
• Tracy Burnette
• Eric Campbell
• Jayleen Cerrillo
• Sarah Clements
• Cheyenne Colburn
• Jonathan Cranford
• Caffie Darden
• Darren Fallis
• Gabbi Ferguson
• Kevin Ficker
• Ryan Gibson
• John Gordon
• Bella Gutierrez
• Mark Harben
• Lee Hargis
• Nick Hawa
• Marie Hotaling
• April Jones
• Nicolas Kallesten
• Alyssa Kim
• Andy Kotynski
• Korban Lundberg
• Brooklyn Marion
• Mike McComas
• Todd Miller
• Jill Phipps
• Lisa Pierson
• Bill Rodriguez
• Cameron Sadowski
• Farah Shaikh
• Chris Shearer
• Julianna Simmons
• Erin Springer
• Kris Stewart
• Chelsea Sutton
• Parker Swift
• Stephen Taylor
• Aaron Thomas
• Carl Walton
• Daiden Warner
• Errol Zulueta

Service Awards

This fiscal year, NC State recognized 50 employees in OIT who reached five-year milestones in state service:

45 Years of Service

• Caffie Darden

40 Years of Service

• Mardecia Bell

35 Years of Service

• Pat Gaddy
• Brandon Hill

30 Years of Service

• Charles Brabec
• Gwen Hazlehurst
• Suzette Rambeaut
• Andy Raynor

25 Years of Service

• BJ Attarian
• Atwell Dean
• Tom Farwig
• James Gardner
• Greg James
• Andrew Kurth
• Kenneth McEntire Jr
• Kerry Schroeder
• Christopher Shearer
• Greg Sparks

20 Years of Service

• Theo Earl
• Laverne Petit-Frere

15 Years of Service

• Gregory Boyd
• Michele Byrum
• Jianwei Dian
• William McKelvey
• Dan Perry

10 Years of Service

• William Cummings
• Michael Eldridge
• Matthew Fields
• Ryan Gallagher
• Brandon Garrett
• Karen Harman
• Matthew Hawkins
• Tarasa Jackson
• Andrew Kotynski
• Michael Luzi
• Shawn Madey
• Narasimha Narayankhedkar
• Balaji Parthasarathy
• Jacob Porter
• Subhrodip Roy Chowdhury
• Alice Thurman
• Samuel Williamsl

5 Years of Service

• Michael Edmundson
• Sandu Gradisteanu
• Srinirisha Lankipalli
• Nicholas Reichel
• Alice Thurman
• Elizabeth Tran
• Purnima Upadhyaya

Retirements

OIT employees who retired during the 2025-26 fiscal year included:

• Mardecia Bell
• Mary Kay Cahoon
• Pat Gaddy
• Joseph Johnson
• Walt Turner
• Tiffany Viator
• Wei Wang