Rick Fogarty is Central Piedmont Community College’s Chief Operations Officer. He leads the college’s critical operational business units, including information technology services (ITS), facilities and construction, safety and security, and conference and event services.

He assumed his current role in 2025, after serving as vice president and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for nearly four years. Since joining Central Piedmont, Rick has bolstered the college’s technology services, data governance, and project management principles, keeping students, employees, and the community at the center of his work. He has also elevated the college’s service center of excellence, enhancing day-to-day technical support across the college’s six campuses and

online platforms.

Before joining Central Piedmont, Rick was the Chief Information Officer at Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates (CEENTA). He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the system-wide network, storage, security, enterprise architecture, and telecommunications infrastructure, including implementing an emergency Telehealth option in eight days in response to COVID-19. Rick also led efforts to implement an integrated data analytics platform to inform ways that the organization could better serve patients.

Before CEENTA, Rick held leadership roles in technology at Pinehurst Medical Clinic and the United States Army Special Operations Command. During his tenure at both organizations, he managed the strategic direction of the technology and information systems, standardized processes, and led application development projects.

Rick also held roles at Hewlett-Packard, GolfNet, and Sandhills Community College. Before industry and academia, Fogarty served in the U.S. Air Force.  He holds a master’s degree in computer and information systems from Boston University and a bachelor’s in computer science from Franklin University. Fogarty is also certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from ISC2.