Bill Rials

Dr. William “Bill” Rials serves as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement. 

As Senior Associate Dean, Dr. Rials is a member of SoPA’s senior leadership team and provides strategic and operational leadership for the school’s academic enterprise. His responsibilities include academic program development and review, curriculum, faculty affairs, academic policy, learning outcomes assessment, accreditation and regulatory compliance, and academic success. He works closely with the dean, program directors, faculty, and university partners to maintain the quality and integrity of SoPA’s undergraduate and graduate programs.

A central focus of Dr. Rials’ leadership is ensuring that SoPA’s academic programs remain high-quality, relevant, and responsive to the needs of working adults and other nontraditional learners. He leads efforts to strengthen existing programs, develop new academic offerings, evaluate program effectiveness, and align curricula with changing workforce and industry needs. He also supports faculty recruitment, appointment, evaluation, and professional development and provides leadership for academic governance and continuous improvement across the school.

Dr. Rials also serves as a Senior Professor of Practice in the school’s Information Technology program. He remains active in the classroom, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in information technology, cybersecurity, technology leadership, and IT governance. His approach to academic leadership and teaching is informed by his experience as both as an academic and technology executive, with an emphasis on connecting academic theory to professional practice.

Dr. Rials is a nationally recognized expert in information technology, cybersecurity, digital government, and emerging technologies. He is a frequent national-level keynote speaker at conferences and professional events. He also regularly contributes analysis and commentary to national media. His continued service to the professional community is through his appointment as a Senior Fellow for the Center for Digital Government, Center for Digital Education, and Center for Public Sector AI where he provides research, guidance, and thought leadership to public-sector organizations working to modernize government services and adopt emerging technologies. Including contributing to national advisory boards about the responsible and effective use of artificial intelligence in government and education. He continues to contribute to the profession through service as a higher education accreditation, ABET program evaluator.

Before joining Tulane, Dr. Rials held executive and senior leadership positions in state government, local governments, and law enforcement organizations, including roles as chief information officer, chief technology officer, and chief information security officer. His last government appointment was serving as State Chief Enterprise Architect and Deputy Chief Information Officer for the State of Mississippi. In that role, he helped develop the state’s first hybrid cloud strategy and chaired the statewide Chief Information Officers Council. In 2017 he was named among the nation’s top 50 government technology professionals.

Dr. Rials military service included serving in the Mississippi State Guard and completed Officer Candidate School through the Mississippi Military Department. His assignments included conducting cybersecurity analysis and training with the Army Assistant Chief of Staff G6 Office and commanding a military police company. He received the Emergency Service Medal from the Adjutant General of Mississippi for leading the unit responsible for the Joint Force Headquarters security mission during Hurricane Isaac.

Dr. Rials earned a Ph.D. in higher education leadership and public administration from Jackson State University, an M.S. in computer information systems and cybersecurity from Missouri State University, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and leadership from Belhaven University.