The people who provide IT services at UW‑Madison are working every hour of every day to help support the Wisconsin Idea so that the university can help improve people’s lives beyond the classroom.
Chief Information Officer & Vice Provost for Information Technology
Didier Contis
Email:
didier.contis
Meet the Chief Information Officer
Address:
2112 Computer Sciences, 1210 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706
Didier Contis (dee-dee-AY kon-TEES) serves as the chief information officer and vice provost for information technology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a position he has held since July 2025. In his role, Contis leads the university’s information technology strategy and ensures enterprise IT resources support the university’s mission and goals.
Contis has extensive experience in higher education IT leadership. He previously served as the executive director of academic technology, innovation and research computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he developed technology strategies that helped the institute achieve its research, teaching and learning goals.
Born and raised in France, Contis moved to the U.S. in 1999 to begin his IT career at Georgia Tech, where he also served as interim chief information security officer, led the institute’s response to a university-wide security audit, and served as interim associate vice president for data strategy and analytics.Contis specializes in creating innovative technology solutions that support teaching, learning and research and is an advocate for the safe and responsible use of extended reality (XR) technologies in higher education. His significant accomplishments include launching the first large-scale virtual computer lab that let students access scientific and engineering software from anywhere, anytime, on any device. He also helped create a shared cloud computing system that supports research and instruction across multiple academic units.
Contis is a co-author on several academic publications on cybersecurity, network intrusion detection and educational technology. He taught classes focused on using data to make better decisions and is interested in applying knowledge graphs for data analytics. He was the co-principal investigator for CollabNext, a National Science Foundation-supported project that aims to create an open knowledge graph to help connect researchers with potential collaborators. He partnered with the University of Michigan and the New School and co-taught training sessions on XR security, privacy, safety and ethics for higher education professionals.
Background
Areas of specialization
- Research computing and cybersecurity
- Academic technology innovation
- Data strategy and analytics
- Extended reality (XR) technologies in education
- Cloud computing and virtualization
- Strategic IT partnerships
Education
- Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Diplôme d’Ingénieur (Bachelor’s degree), École des Mines de Nantes, France
About the Chief Information Officer
The vice provost for information technology and chief information officer (CIO) oversees UW–Madison’s technology infrastructure, data management and digital strategy.
Working closely with advisory and governance groups, the CIO leads the development, delivery and support of university-wide IT services, including network operations, cybersecurity, digital teaching and learning systems and research computing resources. The CIO leads technology planning and policy development to support academic programs, research initiatives and administrative operations while ensuring data privacy and regulatory compliance.
The CIO directs the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), the principal locus of the university’s IT operations, as well as the offices of the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer.
Who does IT@UW–Madison?
Division of Information Technology
DoIT is a center of campus IT operations, providing IT services & support to faculty, staff and students as well as their schools, divisions, departments and units.
More campus IT providers
A variety of other IT providers are distributed across campus, performing IT functions and providing IT services for schools, divisions, departments and units.
Example of ongoing work
From large scale projects to everyday learning opportunities, UW–Madison IT professionals support the mission of teaching, research and service with innovative and creative solutions.
Interested in working at UW–Madison?
IT news
IT and CIO news
Virtual Office Hours With Didier Contis & Keith Poulsen
Fridays, 9:15am via Zoom. Unscripted conversations with our chief information officer. The Aug 22 guest is Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Director Keith Poulsen.
DoIT Help Desk resumes normal hours
Starting Aug 24: The Division of Information Technology Help Desk will switch to fall semester hours. On Labor Day, you can reach the Help Desk via phone, chat or email.
Options for using AI in your teaching & course design
Aug 25, noon via Zoom. This Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring session will introduce practical ways you might choose to use AI tools in teaching and course design tasks.
12-week Machine Learning Marathon starts in September
This 12-week hackathon offers real-world machine learning and AI projects in sustainability, ecology, neuroscience, psychology and more. Register by Sep 10.
New name, same mission: 7 projects recognized in renamed teaching & learning program
Meet the 2025 Insight to Impact awardees (formerly the DEEP Microgrant Program). This initiative supports faculty and instructional staff in using data to drive innovation and improve student success.
