Division of Information Technology Organizational Structure

The Division of Information Technology strives to deliver high-quality information technology services to support teaching, learning, research, and administration for the University of Missouri and its enterprise affiliates.

View the DoIT organizational chart or read more about each of our technology teams below.


Ben Canlas

Benjamin Canlas, Interim Vice President for IT and MU Chief Information Officer

Ben Canlas is the Interim Vice President for IT and MU Chief Information Officer.  In his role, he leads the information technology organization for the University of Missouri which includes all four universities, MU, UMSL, UMKC, MS&T as well as UM System Offices, and MOREnet.    The University’s IT portfolio includes end-user computing, application development, student computing services, data management and warehousing, enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise architecture, project management, infrastructure, research computing and support, networking and telecommunications, academic and audio/visual technology and information security and compliance.

Prior to becoming the Interim VP for IT and MU CIO, Ben served the University in a multitude of technology and leadership roles over a 22 year period.  In his previous position of Director of Enterprise Application Services, he was responsible for the University’s enterprise HR, Financial, Supply Chain, and Student Information systems and the operational infrastructure which supports them.

Ben earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.


Brandon Hough

Brandon Hough, Executive Director of Distributed IT

Brandon Hough serves as the Executive Director of Distributed IT for the University of Missouri. With over 30 years of experience in IT support and information security, he has extensive knowledge of the components necessary to make technology run smoothly. During his tenure, Brandon has developed a number of teams and support structures-including IT support for Residence Halls, Computing Site Management, IT Security and Account Management, and Distributed IT Support.

His current teams provide support for faculty, staff, and students ranging from the help desk, account management and hands-on IT support interactions to in-depth research and application support. In addition, Brandon is responsible for the MU data center, telecommunications services, structured cabling, outside plant and network services.

Distributed IT:
Distributed IT provides support to faculty, staff, and students within the colleges, schools, and departments. This ranges from Helpdesk services, to Computing Sites and walk-up support, to providing direct departmental support.

Tech Support:
IT support in response to inquiries via phone, chat, or online self-help, and walk-up for all computing and Telecom questions and problems.

Student Computing Access:
Computing labs across campus bring students easy access to computing resources, software, and printing.

Data Center Services:
Provides a secure and environmentally controlled facilities to house computing systems for MU and UM organizations.

Telecommunications:
Provides networks, including all aspects of the design, development, operations, and management of the University’s voice and data networks, and the two-way radio system.


Michelle Merriman, Interim Director, Enterprise Applications Services (EAS)

Michelle has over 10 years of higher-ed information technology experience. As interim director of EAS, she is responsible for the enterprise level applications that serve as the backbone for the University of Missouri-System; these include service management and workflow applications, custom application development, HR/Payroll, Finance and Student systems.

Custom Application Development:

Develops and maintains a variety of administrative and student-facing applications using both traditional and low-code/no-code development platforms.

Oracle/PeopleSoft Application Development, Security, & Administration:
Supports development/customization, security, and infrastructure administration of Peoplesoft Finance and Supply Chain, Human Resources, and Student Administration.

Enterprise Performance Management (Budget & Planning):
Supports development/customization and administration of Workday Planning, UM System’s enterprise-level budget & planning system.

Workflow Applications & Service Management:
Supports third-party enterprise applications for services such as Document Workflow and Imaging Management, Risk and Insurance Management, IT Service Management, Billing and Account Reconciliation.


Nikki Witting

Nikki Witting, Director

Nikki Witting is the Director of Finance and Administration. With over 25 years of experience in telecommunications and IT finance, she oversees the IT budget, financial reporting, and service billing as well as human resources, administration, and service management.

Her team implements critical business and logistic support as well as engaging stakeholders with operational processes and customer portals. They also provide IT training solutions for MU students, faculty and staff on supported software applications.

Finance, Administration, and Human Resources:
Provides critical business, financial, and logistical support services to the organizations within the Division of IT. These services include accounting, resource planning and budgeting, financial reporting and analysis, and procurement as well as asset and inventory management.

Service Management:
This group provides the structure and processes for moving IT forward with a customer portal for IT services including engaging stakeholders, designing IT systems, and operational processes. This also include marketing and communications of services to all audiences.

Service Provisioning and Billing Processing:
Receives requests for services from customers, initiates order fulfillment, job processing, and billing.  Is the liaison between the customer and the technical groups within DoIT.


Becky Thurmond Fowler, UM Chief Information Security Officer

Becky Thurmond Fowler is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the University of Missouri and has over 19 years of higher-ed information security and IT experience.

Becky directs the work of the information security and identity management teams, blending IT security expertise and her management and leadership experience to meet the University’s strategic needs.

Identity Management:
Directs a team to implement an organizational set of business policies, processes and technologies that enable the use of a digital identity to access electronic resources.

Security Awareness:
Coordinates support and education materials for departments, faculty, staff, and students.

Security Operations:
Provides security expertise and resources necessary to protect the University’s information assets and technology resources.

InfoSec Governance, Risk and Compliance:
Oversees the University of Missouri’s information security (InfoSec) policies, procedures, and standards to identify and apply a risk-based approach to information security. Work with campus partners to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.


Abbie O’Sullivan, Director of Enterprise Architecture

Abbie O’Sullivan is the Enterprise Architect for the University of Missouri and has over 23 years of higher-ed IT experience including IT support, Infrastructure, software licensing and compliance, strategic planning, creating policy, educating, building relationships, and creating an accessible digital campus for persons with disabilities.

Abbie directs the work of the Enterprise Architecture program and services which include information technology compliance for purchasing technology, consulting, architectural diagram reviews, and provides leadership to drive future state technologies that support the business processes and align with the strategic goals of the University.

Adaptive Computing:
Manages the Adaptive Computing Technology (ACT) Center to ensure that MU students, faculty, and staff with disabilities gain equal access to digital and assistive technology within the academic and business environment.

IT Compliance:
Directs a team to implement the IT Compliance program which encompasses adhering to established rules, standards, or specifications to align with university and government expectations all related to IT purchases, changes and renewals.

IT Architectural Reviews and Consulting:
Guides the review process to ensure IT accurately records the visual model of the IT systems and components within various capabilities. Provides consulting on various IT systems to assist with software standardization and optimization.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery:
Oversees the University of Missouri’s plan on how our organization will respond to or adapt to potential threats or unforeseen disruptive events while minimizing the negative impacts.


Nate Roettgen, Associate Director

Nate Roettgen serves as the Associate Director of IT Infrastructure Services for the University of Missouri.  With nearly 20 years of experience in IT service delivery, his teams are responsible for core IT infrastructure technologies supporting MU, UM and MU Healthcare.  These services and solutions include:

Storage and Virtualization Services:
Provides enterprise-level file services and solutions and highly available and resilient virtual server environments for MU and UM organizations.

Server Administration:
Manages, maintains, and administers secure server platforms to support a wide variety of workloads for both MU and UM.

Directory Services and Messaging:
Supports UM system-level Active Directory domains and tenants, as well as various messaging and collaboration technologies, such as Exchange and Teams.

Metrics and Monitoring:
Responsible for enterprise-level monitoring, logging, and discovery services, affording high-visibility and rapid response to IT infrastructure service performance or security issues or concerns.

Networking:
Provides wired and wireless networks and connectivity to faculty, staff, students, and guests on the MU campus and within MU Healthcare facilities, in addition to core server and infrastructure networks.


Mark Bookout, Director of IT Research Support Solutions

Mark Bookout leads a multi-campus Research Support Solutions team for both Missouri S&T and MU focused on enabling researchers to go further, faster.  With over 30 years of experience in information technology, Mark brings innovative vision and unique problem solving to his role in IT RSS.  During the last 12 years, Mark built a research support team at Missouri S&T with the mission of removing the technology burden for researchers.  Mark’s expanded team has a diverse array of skillsets, but ultimately the objective is to find uncommon solutions to challenges that researchers face.  The support areas for IT RSS include research computing, embedded systems support, data management and storage, security, networking and instrumentation support and consultation on technology needs to support research.



Natasha Angell
, Executive Director, MOREnet

As Executive Director of MOREnet, Natasha guides MOREnet’s strategic vision, stressing the importance of application and value for consortium members, while appreciating and leveraging the skills and expertise of an incredible team of MOREnet staff. She actively participates in national groups such as The Quilt and Internet2, exchanging experiences and sharing a similar member-centric mission with other research and education network leaders across the country.


Stephanie McClelland, Chief Online & Technology Officer

Stephanie McClelland has been with Missouri Online since 2019 as Senior Director for Program and Course Design Services. In this role, McClelland has been instrumental in overseeing the implementation of strategic initiatives at each of the universities; collaborating with provosts, deans, and faculty to identify emerging trends; conducting needs analysis on the offering of new programs; developing a training program for faculty to become certified in teaching online courses; and implementing a governance structure to support the services of Missouri Online.

As Chief eLearning Officer, McClelland will continue to ensure a superior academic experience for our students and lead us toward meeting ambitious enrollment goals. McClelland will closely collaborate with university leadership and faculty at each of the four universities as they work to expand and align online programs and service initiatives and continue to launch appealing eLearning programs.