The Division of IT has appointed Dr. Beth Woods as Assistant Vice President for IT Enterprise AI, Data & Research Computing, effective May 1.
In this role, Woods will help lead the Division’s efforts to define and advance its enterprise strategy for artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and high-performance computing. These areas are increasingly critical to supporting USC’s academic, research and administrative missions, and Woods will play a key role in aligning technology capabilities with institutional priorities.
Woods brings extensive experience in academic and research technology leadership. She joins USC from the University of Georgia, where she led a variety of initiatives focused on research computing, data management and academic technology services.
Most recently, she served as Director of Research and Computational Data Management within UGA’s University Libraries. In that role, she established a coordinated research data services ecosystem as part of a university-wide initiative in partnership with the Office of Research and Enterprise IT. Her work helped strengthen collaboration across institutional units while expanding support for faculty research and data-driven scholarship.
Prior to her work in the libraries, Woods served as Executive Director for the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at UGA. There, she led a large, distributed IT organization and oversaw the transformation of academic, research and administrative technology services across five academic divisions.
University leaders say Woods’ experience building scalable, collaborative technology ecosystems positions her well to guide USC’s next phase of growth in AI, data and research computing.
“Beth brings a strong track record of building scalable, collaborative technology ecosystems that directly support institutional priorities,” said Brice Bible, vice president for information technology and chief information officer. “Her leadership and vision position us well to accelerate our efforts in artificial intelligence, data and research computing and to deliver meaningful impact across our academic and research enterprise.”