Ryan McDaniel has joined Virginia Tech as the executive director of Secure Identity Services (SIS) within the Division of Information Technology, where he will help provide secure access and wide-ranging support for university information systems.

McDaniel has worked in higher education for more than 20 years, with roles in instruction, student records, and admissions. In his time managing student and faculty services at Stanford University, Alta Colleges, and the University of Colorado, Ryan supported enterprise resource planning applications and online education services. He has overseen the implementation of standards-based single sign-on, 2-factor authentication, identity governance, and online access request processes, and led the strategy for an enterprise Role-Based Access Control implementation.

“Identity and access management is key to Virginia Tech achieving its goals of increased partnerships and collaborations, rapid access to institutional data for analytics and decision-making, and more efficient operations, all while ensuring security and privacy,” said Scott Midkiff, vice president of information technology and chief information officer at Virginia Tech. “Given his experience, knowledge, and skills, I am delighted to have Ryan joining the Division of IT and leading the university in this critical area.”

Ryan received a M.A. in history from San Jose State University, focusing in ancient and medieval history and military history. He also received an M.S. in information systems from the University of Colorado, with a focus in enterprise technology management. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in international relations with a concentration in the Middle East. His dissertation is on American and British foreign policy in Iran. His research interests are in security studies, strategic studies, and the Middle East.

Reflecting on his new role, McDaniel said, “I am excited to join the Virginia Tech community, and especially the SIS team. With my IT colleagues and our stakeholders, we can cultivate the best possible identity and access experience for all Virginia Tech constituents, while continuously improving our security posture.”

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