June 17, 2025

#203: UHCL's 6-Week Leadership Pivot + AI Student Concierge + NASA Innovation Culture [Houston 2024]

#203: UHCL's 6-Week Leadership Pivot + AI Student Concierge + NASA Innovation Culture [Houston 2024]
#203: UHCL's 6-Week Leadership Pivot + AI Student Concierge + NASA Innovation Culture [Houston 2024]
The Public Sector Show by TechTables
#203: UHCL's 6-Week Leadership Pivot + AI Student Concierge + NASA Innovation Culture [Houston 2024]

#203: UHCL's 6-Week Leadership Pivot + AI Student Concierge + NASA Innovation Culture [Houston 2024]

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Featuring:

Dr. LeeBrian Gaskins, Senior Associate Vice President of IT/CIO at University of Houston-Clear Lake

What You’ll Learn:

- 6-week crisis leadership insights: How Dr. Gaskins built team trust and executed digital transformation during COVID with a brand-new team

- AI concierge vision for higher ed: Real-world use cases for student support systems that access enterprise data and provide personalized recommendations

- NASA's cultural influence on tech strategy: How space program values of exploration and resilience shape innovation approaches in higher education

- Email security culture building: Lessons from achieving 96-97% spam filtering while shifting user behavior from "fix later" to "safety first"

- Collaboration as "magnifier and multiplier": Why Texas higher ed leaders prioritize peer networking and mentorship for amplified problem-solving

Timestamps

00:34 - Introduction and NASA Memorabilia Space Tour

01:00 - Dr. Gaskins' Journey: West Virginia to NASA's Backyard

03:00 - Childhood Space Dreams Driving Technology Innovation

05:00 - International Business Background and Cross-Border Tech

08:00 - Texas Higher Ed Collaboration Networks and Mentorship

11:00 - Collaboration as a "Magnifier and Multiplier" Strategy

13:00 - NASA's Cultural Influence on STEM and Resilience

17:00 - 6-Week COVID Crisis Leadership with New Team

23:00 - Human-Centric Tech: Internet Access and TTY Device Stories

28:00 - AI in Higher Ed: Ethics, Policy, and Student Experience

34:00 - AI Concierge Vision: Enterprise Data and Student Support

41:00 - Email Security Culture: 96-97% Spam Filtering Success

45:00 - EDUCAUSE Takeaways and Cross-Pollination Benefits

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🎥 Upcoming Live Podcast Tours

 

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Left to right: Joe Toste, host of TechTables; Ted Ross, CIO, City of Los Angeles; Richard McHattie, CIO, Maricopa County; and Justin Fair, CIO, City of Garland, at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 (Bellagio, Las Vegas)

 

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Returning for a third year in partnership with Carahsoft, and we could not be more excited. TechTables heads to Denver to celebrate the leaders, the stories, and the work shaping the future of higher education!

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