As vice president and chief information officer of Cal Poly ITS, Meggan Levitt is leading the university in a big way.
Whether supporting Kennedy Library’s reopening or leading the campus cloud transformation, Meggan leverages technology effectively and responsibly to guide strategic investments and foster collaborative innovation.
Before her current position, she held key roles at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Emory University, Westminster College, and University of Texas at Austin.
Meggan recently took a break from her busy schedule to discuss her career journey, current role and the insights she’s gained along the way.
What does a day in your life look like in your current role?
Honestly, there’s no such thing as “typical” in the technology world! That’s what I love about the Cal Poly VP and CIO role — every day brings me something different.
I start early by catching up on anything that comes in overnight. Technology doesn’t sleep. The highlight of my morning is our daily operational meetings with the ITS managers. This is quite a witty group with a fantastic sense of humor, so I am always guaranteed a laugh to start my day, no matter what challenges we’re facing. We’ve gotten creative with these meetings too, giving each day a theme like “Threat Thursday,” where we collectively review cybersecurity activities.
The heart of my work really happens when I step outside my office and connect across campus. I spend a good chunk of time in conversations with department heads, academic leaders and steering committees. These partnerships aren’t just meetings to get work done — they’re how we make sure our technology serves the Cal Poly community in meaningful ways. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a solution we’ve developed make the Cal Poly experience better for our students, staff and faculty.
Between meetings, I carve out time to stay on top of where technology is heading, and at warp speed too. I might be getting product demos from vendors, comparing notes with CIO colleagues at other CSUs, or diving into the latest research. I go to the typical tech sources, but I also have some quirky ones too — check out the online newsletter Tedium.com that piques my curiosity often on unusual technology topics.
Afternoons typically shift toward the bigger picture — planning for the future, finding resources for innovations we want to pursue, and making sure our talented team has what they need to succeed. I keep an open-door policy with our ITS directors because they’re on the front lines and their insights are invaluable.
No day is complete without moments I get to spend with our incredible Cal Poly students. Whether I’m joining campus activities or just chatting with students about their technology experiences, these conversations remind me why we do this work and provide valuable insights that help shape our services. After all, supporting learning motivates me and is the whole reason I’ve dedicated my career to higher education.
What are some projects your team is working on that you are excited about?
The ITS teams are tackling several exciting projects that will enhance the Cal Poly Learn by Doing experience for years to come.
I’m particularly proud of our work supporting Kennedy Library’s reopening after its two-year transformation. Our teams have upgraded the fiber connection and installed modern network infrastructure throughout the building. There’s something special about knowing thousands of students will soon return to this revitalized space this fall. The library is truly the heart of academic life on campus, and helping to bring it back to life with modern technology has been incredibly rewarding.
We’re also undertaking a $1.2 million campus network upgrade, replacing over 400 network switches across buildings this summer and fall. Network infrastructure is like plumbing — nobody thinks about it until it doesn’t work! This project will boost network speeds and reduce congestion for everyone. When students can seamlessly stream video for projects or researchers can transfer massive datasets without delays, that’s when this behind-the-scenes work truly matters.
Another key project is the renovation of Building 52, where we’re working with Facilities to convert office space into classrooms. We’re ensuring these new learning spaces have robust network infrastructure and enhanced audio/visual technology. It’s exciting to envision Cal Poly students engaged in active learning in these new spaces.
These infrastructure investments will serve our campus community for years to come. The essential work of cables, switches, and server rooms is laying the foundation that allows Cal Poly’s unique Learn by Doing approach to flourish in our digital world.
Are you from San Luis Obispo? If not, where are you from, and how did you end up in SLO County?
I am not originally from San Luis Obispo, but I got here as soon as I could! It’s a stunning location with warm people to match the climate. I ended up in SLO specifically for my job at Cal Poly less than one year ago. I’ve been in California for a decade now, and I adore the playful yet hard-working Central Coast lifestyle.
I grew up overseas because I’m half-British. My father is English and was an executive in international business. My mother was American and from Chicago, Illinois. My childhood was split between Jakarta, Indonesia and about 20 miles west of London on the banks of the River Thames in England. I lived in the villages of Chobham, Woking and Windsor to name a few. Windsor is famous for Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British royal family. I could see the castle and the Royal Standard flag flown when the Queen was in from my bedroom window!
Growing up globally really shaped me in profound ways, and it’s one of the reasons I love working on college campuses and Cal Poly in particular — they bring so many different, unique people and cultures together. I often hear different languages being spoken on campus and learn about the world through my daily interactions with our community. This moves me deeply and it’s why I joke that I went to college and never left! I’ve been in higher education IT my whole career and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Where is your happy place?
My happy place is any live music venue — from concert halls to dive bars. I love the atmosphere of a show and find them both energizing and soul-fulfilling. I’ve always enjoyed dancing to disconnect from the workday.
If you could live in any movie universe, which one would it be and why?
This one’s easy for a techie: Star Wars! For epic space travel and the chance to use the Force.
If you could meet your future self, what would you ask her?
Tell me about AI’s journey overall and at Cal Poly — did it develop into the beacon for human progress we envisioned? Have we used its abilities to solve tough, complex problems like climate change or curing diseases? Or did it go in a direction we didn’t expect? How does AI fit into your daily life now? Have we struck that delicate harmony between embracing innovation while preserving what makes us human?
I hope my future self would say Cal Poly got this right as I witness our AI innovation as well as our research on AI’s ethical implications. Cal Poly is already using AI to revolutionize procurement with tools like “ScopeBuilder” for creating more effective RFPs. And students are using AI-powered apps in physics labs, while others gain hands-on experience through the Cal State AI initiative, which provides free access to tools like ChatGPT.
At Cal Poly, I envision technology that empowers both learning and human connection — AI tools that enhance education while keeping community and our hands-on, Learn by Doing approach at the heart of what we do. If you have questions about our IT initiatives, visit us at https://tech.calpoly.edu/.