It is with sincere appreciation and gratitude that I share the upcoming departure of Vince Kellen, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for UC San Diego. After nearly a decade of impactful and visionary service, Vince has chosen to step down to pursue new opportunities. His last day at UC San Diego as Chief Information Officer will be July 31. Vince has graciously offered to stay on in a consultancy role to the TSS project for a few months, and his last day with the University will be October 31, 2025.
Since joining our campus in 2014, Vince has played a pivotal role in modernizing and transforming our information technology landscape. His tenure has been marked by bold strategic vision, collaborative leadership, and a relentless focus on operational excellence. Among his many accomplishments, Vince led the modernization and consolidation of more than 20 enterprise systems, successfully moving legacy mainframe infrastructure to the cloud, establishing UC San Diego as a leader in digital transformation across higher education.
Vince is especially proud of the development and expansion of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practice within IT Services, which now includes more than 5,000 staff with LSS credentials. He also carefully cultivated a new generation of leadership within IT Services, ensuring continuity and strength in the organization.
He played a central role in unifying previously distributed IT units under one coordinated IT Services organization, driving alignment and efficiency. His leadership in strengthening cybersecurity posture in response to UC-wide mandates was critical, as were his efforts in improving the CMMC enclave and research review submission processes.
Always forward-looking, Vince established and scaled several strategic innovations that have had far-reaching impact. Among them: the creation of TritonGPT, a low-cost, UC- and CSU-accessible AI platform that is enhancing how institutions engage with generative AI; and the launch of CloudBank, a national cloud access and support program he initiated shortly after arriving at UC San Diego. CloudBank has become a major resource for academic researchers nationwide, receiving $11 million in its first five years and slated to receive $20 million in continued NSF funding over the next five.
Throughout his time here, Vince remained deeply committed to student, faculty, and research success—ensuring that the campus’s digital infrastructure could grow alongside its ambitions. He worked closely with campus and systemwide leadership, the Academic Senate, faculty, and staff to support a modern, scalable, and secure technology ecosystem. His legacy at UC San Diego will long be felt in the systems we use, the teams he developed, and the culture of innovation he helped shape.
Please join me in thanking Vince for his exceptional service to UC San Diego. His contributions have left an enduring mark, and we wish him the very best in his next chapter.
I am grateful to Kevin Chou, Deputy Chief Information Officer, who will serve as Interim CIO during this transition, beginning August 1. Thank you to Kevin for stepping into this role and helping to ensure continuity and stability as we move forward. Vince will report to Kevin in his Consultant role.
