About the CIO

Josh Bright is UC Santa Barbara’s third Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (AVC/CIO). In this role, Josh provides oversight for all IT activities that contribute to planning, creating, and implementing UCSB's IT vision, and for the integration of those activities into the campus' strategic plan.

Josh joined UCSB in August 2022 after almost 20 years at UC Riverside, where he served as the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer, responsible for the strategic leadership of UCR’s central campus Information Technology Solutions (ITS) organization. Prior to this role, he served as Associate Director/Senior Program Manager of UCR ITS Demand & Premium Services, designing and implementing key IT services for the campus, and as UCPath Campus Program Manager, leading UC Riverside through its successful transformation and implementation of PeopleSoft Human Capital Management. 

Josh received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from UC Riverside, an M.A. in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University, and a B.A. in Philosophy and Theological Studies from Wheaton College. He holds certificates in IT Service Management, Digital & IT Strategy, and Lean IT, and has completed the UC IT Leadership program at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Although he was born in the midwest, Josh has spent most of his life in California. He has been married to his wife Dianne for 25 years, and they have three children. They love spending time outdoors and exploring all that the Santa Barbara area and surrounding central coast have to offer.