Two finalists, Jeffrey Savoy and Damon Armour, have been selected for final on-campus interviews for the chief information security officer position.

Savoy previously served as the interim chief information security officer at the University of Wisconsin Office of Cybersecurity, and Armour was the director of information security and risk and assurance at North Carolina State University.

The candidates will participate in on-campus interviews from 1-2 pm at the De Luca Forum at the Discovery Building Nov. 11 and Nov. 15.

The CISO oversees a program at the university that ensures information is used properly and protects the university from threats to this information, both internal and external. Additionally, the CISO assures that the campus complies with requirements regarding information access, security and privacy.

According to an email statement from Chief Technology Officer Todd Shechter, UW is interested in extending cybersecurity “to the edge” of the university, ensuring that systems and data across UW are visible and appropriately secured and extending the reach and effectiveness of cybersecurity tools through automation, AI and other means.

“[We want to] make cybersecurity part of the fabric of the university, ensuring that university leadership, stakeholders and IT enterprise university-wide are aware of threats and know and use practices and policies to keep the environment safe,” Schechter said.

The previous CISO Bob Turner stepped down from the position to pursue an opportunity outside the university, according to a newsletter from Chief Information Officer and Vice Provost for Information Technology Lois Brooks. Turner held the position for six years.

Upon Turner’s resignation, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Cybersecurity Operations Savoy was appointed interim chief information security officer, effective July 17, 2021. At this current position, Savoy earns $170,000 according to public records.

According to Shechter, student input in the process is encouraged.

“We welcome students to attend the public forums for these candidates or watch the recordings and provide feedback,” Shechter said. “We know that cybersecurity is of keen interest to all campus constituents but especially our student body. Feedback from students will play a key role in the decision of our next CISO.”

Feedback is appreciated and can be submitted through an online survey.