About
Eric Holloway joined AB in 2019 as Director of IT Services and was promoted to Chief Information Security Officer (in addition to his director role) in 2022. He manages the entire AB IT operation: the campus network, the MyAB student/employee portal, the 1,400-endpoint device fleet, the AB Helpdesk, classroom technology, and the cybersecurity program.
A native of Bridgeport, West Virginia, Holloway holds an M.S. in Cybersecurity from West Virginia University (2017), a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Fairmont State University (2009), and a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) certification. He is also a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
Before AB he spent seven years at the WV University Health System, most recently as Senior Information Security Engineer in the WVUH Security Operations Center. He came to AB to be closer to his wife's family in Buckhannon — and, as he tells it, "because the security challenges at a 1,100-student university with seven major federally regulated programs are actually more interesting than they sound."
Education
- 2017M.S., Cybersecurity — West Virginia University Statler College.
- 2009B.S., Computer Information Systems (with honors) — Fairmont State University.
- —Certifications: CISSP, CISM, CEH, CompTIA Security+, Microsoft Certified Security Engineer.
Teaching
Holloway teaches one cybersecurity course in the AB Computer Science department each spring semester.
- CS 380Introduction to CybersecurityA junior-level CS elective covering the foundations of information security, network security, and security operations. Includes a capture-the-flag (CTF) final-exam exercise.
Practice & Service
Holloway's identity is as a practitioner-administrator: a working CISO at a small university with a very lean security team and a long list of regulated programs (FERPA, HIPAA, PCI, GLBA, NIST). He has spent his AB tenure modernizing the campus security posture: multi-factor authentication is now mandatory for all employees and students, the entire institutional network has been redesigned, and AB completed its first independent penetration test in 2024.
He is a member of the EDUCAUSE Higher Education Information Security Council, a frequent presenter at the WV Higher Ed Policy Commission IT Council, and an adjunct mentor at the WVU Statler College.
Selected Publications & Presentations
- 2024"The Small-College CISO: A Field Report." EDUCAUSE Review.
- 2023"Multi-Factor Authentication Adoption at Small Universities." Journal of Higher Education IT.
- 2025Plenary, EDUCAUSE Security Professionals Conference, "The Lean CISO."
Honors & Service
- 2024AB Staff Award for Distinguished Service.
- 2022Appointed Chief Information Security Officer.
- 2021EDUCAUSE Catalyst Award (Cybersecurity).
- 2017WVU Statler College Distinguished Graduate.
A small-college CISO has the same threat model as a large-university CISO. They just have one-tenth the team and twice the institutional trust. That second part is the only thing that has gotten me through the last four years.— Eric J. Holloway
Beyond the Classroom
Holloway lives in Buckhannon with his wife Megan (a UMC pastor) and their two young children. He is a member of First United Methodist Church of Buckhannon, an Eagle Scout (and the AB representative on the regional Boy Scout council), and the volunteer technology coordinator for the Barbour County School District.
A serious amateur radio operator (call sign K8EJH) and a competitive amateur chess player, he hosts a weekly "Tech Coffee" gathering at the Hilltop Cafe for AB employees who want to ask questions about anything tech-related.