Rick Fogarty serves as the college’s interim 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, Fogarty 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.
Prior to joining Central Piedmont, Fogarty was the chief information officer at Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates (CEENTA). He was responsible for 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. Fogarty also led efforts to implement an integrated data analytics platform to inform ways that the organization could better serve patients.
Before CEENTA, Fogarty 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.
Fogarty also held roles at Hewlett-Packard, GolfNet, and Sandhills Community College. Prior to 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 information systems security professional (ISC2).