University Welcomes New Chief Information Officer

Farnsworth will provide management to the Office of Information Technology as well as vision and strategic leadership to advance the university's missions of teaching, research and service through technology.

"With expertise in project management, executive communication and process transformation gained from overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets and large teams, Vicki has demonstrated her ability to consistently balance strategic objectives and resource optimization," said Steven Holley, executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer.

"Her ability to align technology initiatives with core educational goals – while maintaining operational excellence through shared governance and consensus-building – ensures Ole Miss' IT department thrives both today and in the future."

Farnsworth is looking forward to not only the university's today, but its future.

"This campus is undergoing exciting technical changes, and I can't wait to see those come to fruition," Farnsworth said. "I want to help campus partners dream up big innovation for the path forward."

With more than two decades of experience in higher education, Farnsworth comes to Oxford from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. There, she was vice chancellor and chief information officer for the past five years.

At Chattanooga, she also served as special adviser to the chancellor, AI program lead, interim vice chancellor of communications and marketing, and interim vice chancellor of finance and administration.

She began her career in 1995 at Purdue University. She served in the university's information technology department as well as in Discovery Park and as executive director for Purdue's Enterprise Solutions before her departure in 2019.

A graduate of Purdue University, she earned a bachelor's in computer information systems and a master's in information systems management. She is working toward a doctorate in educational learning and leadership from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

She welcomes the opportunities, future partnerships and the close, student-focused community at Ole Miss.

"I hope that I build partnerships and help develop teams that have a lasting impact at the University of Mississippi," she said. "The fact that a large campus can maintain a family atmosphere amazes me. I can tell that everyone wholeheartedly cares about success for students."