Grace Faustino
Manager IT Services, Research IT Liaison for UNM IT
Office of the Vice President for Research
gfaustin@unm.edu
"... impactful technology work is never just about the systems we build—it's about the research we enable, the communities we empower, and the innovations we make possible." GLF
Doctoral Candidate in Organization, Information, and Learning Sciences
University Libraries, University of New Mexico
Master of Arts in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology
University of New Mexico
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Minor in Mathematics
New Mexico State University.
Area of Research
Doctoral Research:The Automated Academy: Evaluating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Administrative Efficiency and Institutional Agility in Public Research Universities.
Areas of Expertise
- Category III Research Centers and Institutes – Strategic IT support, cybersecurity assessments, and infrastructure coordination
- Core OVPR Units – Desktop support, web services, and systems implementation
- Center Directors and VPR Leadership – Strategic technology insights and compliance guidance
- Faculty, Researchers, Staff, and Students – Research computing, data management, training, and comprehensive IT support
- Institutional Users – Support for InfoReady, Qualtrics, iThenticate, iLab, and custom enterprise applications
Brief Biography
Grace L. Faustino serves as the Manager of IT Services within the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of New Mexico, where she leads specialized IT services that support and enhance research activities across the OVPR Core Units and 11 Category III Research Centers and as well as support the institution.
Grace is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Organization, Information, and Learning Sciences at the College of University Libraries, University of New Mexico. She holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Minor in Mathematics from New Mexico State University.
Grace brings over 20 years of IT experience spanning software development, project management, strategic planning, cybersecurity, and compliance. Her career includes technical leadership at in defense contracting companies, where she developed secure applications for the Department of Defense. At UNM, she has advanced from Graduate Project Assistant to her current role as Manager of Research Computing and Information Technology Services, as well as serving as the Research IT Liaison.
In this capacity, Grace represents research technology needs on key institutional committees including the Research Technology Advisory Board, Academic Technologies Advisory Board, and Administrative Enterprise Leadership Group. She has completed the EDUCAUSE New IT Managers Institute and was integral part of the EDUCAUSE Research Data Curation Working Group and ECAR-CDS Research Computing Working Group.
Leading a lean team, Grace has spearheaded transformative initiatives including leveraging Microsoft System Center Configuration Management and Intune, migrating and automating Administrative Computing Systems across OVPR functional areas and Category III Research Centers, co-developing UNM's first Research Data Management Policy, and implementing the annual Cyber Hygiene Assessment program based on CMMC 2.0 and NIST 800-171 standards with corresponding Standard Operating Procedures. She developed and proposed a shared services model for research IT personnel currently in soft launch and oversees enterprise system implementations and cybersecurity compliance across research centers.
Beyond her professional role, Grace served as UNM Staff Council President and is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of UNM Women in Technology. Her contributions have been recognized through the Provost Committee for Professional Staff Award, the Staff Council Jim Davis Award for Meritorious Service, and the 2025 Luminaria Award as a Change Maker. She has presented research on artifact management at the IEEE International Conference on eScience.
