Directory

Profile

Thomas Skill has 40 years of computing, communications technology and IT organization management experience in higher education. He has been on the faculty at the University of Dayton since 1984 and currently holds the rank of professor in the Department of Communication.

Prior to returning to the faculty in 2025, Skill served as associate provost for strategic initiatives and planning for two years, as associate provost and chief information officer for 19 years, as associate provost for educational innovation and technology for three years, as assistant provost for academic technology for three years, and as chair of the Department of Communication for four years. He also has served as director of graduate studies in the Department of Communication for seven years, interim of dean of the Graduate School for two years and was a lead researcher in the School of Business Administration's Information Systems Laboratory from 1986-93.

Skill’s current areas of research interest are artificial intelligence and cybersecurity education. Given the explosive growth of AI in nearly every industry, Skill incorporates “AI career readiness” into his classes and has established a scholarship agenda around the ways that AI is reshaping learning, teaching and student success in higher education. Skill is also continuing his research on effective strategies for building and sustaining cybersecurity awareness among user communities, particularly in the context of adopting “High Reliability Organization” best practices.

Courses taught

• CMM 421: Organizational Communication and Writing
• CMM 425: Professional Seminar in Communication Management in Organizations

Selected Publications

Skill, T. (June/July 2018) Creating a “Cyber-Mindful” Campus Community: Responding to the Growing Threats of Social Engineering. In: Education Technology Insights, pp. 28-29. https://connected-education.educationtechnologyinsights.com/cioviewpoint/creating-a-cyber-mindful-campus-community-responding-to-the-growing-threats-of-social-engineering-nid-377.html (invited)

Skill, T.D., (2018) How Nervous Should Your Cybersecurity Team Be When the Gen-Z Population Joins the Workforce over the Next Few Years? Center for Cybersecurity & Data Intelligence. eCommons, https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udit_promo/7/ (invited)

Skill, T.D. (2018) The Coming Generation-Z Impact on Cybersecurity. CIO Review. https://conversational.cioreview.com/cioviewpoint/the-coming-generationz-impact-on-cybersecurity-nid-32255-cid-202.html (invited)

Skill, T.D., (January 2018) Is Your Organization Cyber-Mindful? In: Technology First Magazine.  Pp 2-3. eCommons, https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udit_promo/8/ (invited)

Skill, T.D. (March, 2017) How Intentionality Can Help Drive Strategic Wins and Institutional Success.  CIO Review, pp. 38-39.  http://education.cioreview.com/cioviewpoint/how-intentionality-can-help-drive-strategic-wins-and-institutional-success-nid-23556-cid-27.html (invited)

Skill, T.D. (October 13, 2014) “The On-Site Data Center and Off-Site Cloud Solution: Strategically Blending the Private Cloud with the Hybrid Cloud.” CIO Review, pp. 80-81 (invited)

Skill, Thomas (December 9, 2013) “Create & Encourage Greater Integration Across the Traditional IT Silos” CIO Review, p. 53. (invited)

Skill, Thomas (2009) “Leading and aligning IT innovations in higher education.” In: Jo Alice Darden (Ed.) Improving IT Performance. New York, N.Y.: Thomson Reuters/Aspatore. pp.19-32. (invited)

Robinson, J. D., Skill, T., & Turner, J. W. (2004). Media usage patterns and portrayals of seniors. In Handbook of communication and aging research, 2nd Ed. (pp. 423-446). Routledge. (invited)

Skill, Thomas & Young, Brian (Winter, 2002) “Embracing the hybrid model: Working at the intersections of virtual and physical learning spaces. In: New directions for teaching and learning: The importance of physical space in creating supportive learning environments.  San Francisco: Jossey Bass, No. 92, pp. 23-32. (juried)

Selected Presentations

Skill, T.D. (Nov. 29, 2023). “Teaching your Cybersecurity Team to Run with Scissors: How HRO practices can strengthen IT performance while lowering risks.” Presentation to the CCDI Seminar Series, Center for Cybersecurity & Data Intelligence, University of Dayton. Dayton, Ohio.

Skill, T.D. (March 9, 2022). “Teaching your cybersecurity team to run with scissors: The five principles that sustain success in high performing/high risk organizations.” Dayton, Ohio: Ohio Information Security Conference. 

Skill, T.D., Salisbury, W.D., and Harknett, R. (March 9, 2022) “Cyber Ranges: Platforms for education, workforce and economic development in the 21st century.” Dayton, Ohio: Ohio Information Security Conference.

Skill, T.D and Jones, K. (March 9, 2022). “The Cincinnati-Dayton cyber corridor (Cin-Day Cyber): A regional consortia approach to cybersecurity education and workforce readiness.” Dayton, Ohio: Ohio Information Security Conference.

Skill, T.D. (Oct. 21, 2021). “Leading resilient organizations amidst the growing threats of cyber attacks: Lessons from high performing/high risk industries.” Dayton Fraud, Cyber and Ethics Conference. Dayton, Ohio.

Skill, T.D., Robinson, J.D., and Conde, K. (March 11, 2020). “Communication best practices during and after a cybersecurity attack: What the research suggests.” Dayton, Ohio: Ohio Information Security Conference.  

Skill, T. D. and Robinson, J.D. (July 14, 2019). “Cybersecurity awareness: Successful approaches to keep your institution secure.”  Presentation at the NACUBO Annual Meeting. Austin, Texas.