Auburn University appoints Timothy M. Chester as vice president for information technology and chief information officer

Auburn University has named Timothy M. Chester as vice president for information technology and chief information officer, Kelli Shomaker, senior vice president for business and administration and chief financial officer, announced today. His appointment is effective Aug. 1.

Chester currently serves as vice president for information technology at the University of Georgia, where he has led enterprise technology efforts since 2011. Since 2022, he has also served as vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer for the University System of Georgia, overseeing enterprise systems and network infrastructure supporting 26 institutions and more than 350,000 students statewide.

“Timothy is an accomplished higher education technology leader with a strong record of guiding university-wide efforts to modernize business processes and strengthen infrastructure,” Shomaker said. “His collaborative leadership style, strategic perspective and extensive experience leading complex organizations made him the clear choice for this role. We are excited to welcome him to Auburn.”

As Auburn’s vice president for information technology and CIO, Chester will oversee the university’s enterprise technology strategy, operations and security initiatives while supporting Auburn’s mission of instruction, research and extension.

At Georgia, Chester served as the institution’s first vice president for information technology. Within the University System of Georgia, he served as its highest-ranking technology executive. Prior to joining Georgia, Chester held leadership positions at Pepperdine University and Texas A&M University.

“The throughline of my career is people,” Chester said. “The most consequential thing a leader can offer is the capacity to see what someone can become before they can see it themselves. That has been my singular focus at Georgia, and I leave confident in my team’s exceptional ability to continue the work we built together. Auburn's OIT has a strong foundation and capable, dedicated people. My ambition for Auburn is to advance what Jim and his team have built and to create the conditions in which every member of the organization can do their best work. I am grateful to Kelli Shomaker and the Auburn leadership for this opportunity, and my wife Gail and I look forward to joining the Auburn family in August.”

Chester holds a doctorate and master’s degree in sociology from Texas A&M University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at Tyler.