Chad Burns has been named the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine’s (WVSOM) executive director of information technology.
In this role, Burns will provide strategic leadership and direction of the school’s IT department. He will manage the department’s day-to-day operations, including technical infrastructure, telecommunications, helpdesk and user support services, software and website development, database management, IT procurement and budgets, information security and cybersecurity.
Burns, who joined WVSOM in 2015 as a server systems manager, said he is excited to lead the department.
“I’ve worked with this team for 10 years, and I know how dedicated and how capable everyone is. I’m humbled to work with them,” he said. “I want to see our people continue to grow, become stronger and build relationships across WVSOM while also starting to innovate by taking advantage of the outstanding skills we have in our department.”
He described his leadership style as a combination of servant and transformational leadership.
“I believe in letting people do the work they need to do, stepping back and clearing the path for them, removing obstacles and pushing them to excel and grow into their career in the areas they want. I feel like that will ultimately benefit the school,” he said.
Burns joined WVSOM after founding the West Virginia Tech Fest, a statewide educational technology conference to address the practical needs of K-12 school technology departments, and serving as president of the state chapter of the VMware Users Group. His previous experience also includes work with Pomeroy IT Solutions in Dunbar, W.Va., the Greenbrier County Board of Education in Lewisburg, and Electronic Arts Tiburon in Orlando, FL. Additionally, he owned and managed two IT companies based in Lewisburg.
At WVSOM, Burns has directed major infrastructure projects, including the implementation of a Cisco Hyperflex UCS Data Center, migration of institutional servers to Azure and deployment of a 600-virtual-desktop environment, among other accomplishments.
In 2024, he was selected to participate in Leadership West Virginia, a statewide program focused on advancing the state’s economic development, civic engagement and public policy.
Burns has an associate degree in video game design and development from Full Sail University; a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Western Governors University; and a master’s degree in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Drema Hill, Ph.D., WVSOM’s chief operations officer, praised Burns for his experience in multiple areas of information technology, including user support, development, servers and networking, and said he will work to bring new ideas to the school.
“Beyond technical leadership, Chad has consistently focused on culture change and team development,” she said. “He fosters collaboration, trust and a shared sense of purpose, working to build meaningful connections within the IT department and across WVSOM. Chad is a relationship builder, a listener and a leader who values transparency, collaboration and accountability.”