William Rials

In 2008, William Rials graduated from Belhaven College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management. Rials took classes such as Business Management, Process Reengineering, and Organizational Change Management. He then went on to pursue his Master’s Degree in Computer and Information Systems at Missouri State University. His coursework included Advanced Technology, Executive Strategic Planning, Information Security, and Service Management. In 2012, he graduated with a 3.9 GPA. While pursuing his Master’s, Rials also attended the Mississippi Military academy from 2011-2013. From 2014 to 2017, Rials pursued his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and Public Policy at Jackson State University. His research dissertation interest was in the critical factors that influence the adoption of cloud computing in the public sector. In 1992, he opened Fusion Martial Arts, serving as the owner, operator, and boxing and martial arts coach. His IT career began in 2002 at the Sheriff’s Officer. Until 2005, he worked as the Network Administrator of their Board of Supervisors. From 2005 to 2012, he served as their Director of Information Technology. From 2011 to 2014, Rials served as the Captain of IT Networking and Security for the Mississippi State Guard. In 2012, Rials was hired as the Cyber-Security Operations Manager and Lead Network Engineer at the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services. He was simultaneously hired as an Adjunct Professor and Course Developer at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2014, he became their Data Center Systems Manager, where he served until July 2016. In Jun 2016, he was hired as their State Enterprise Architect and he continues to work here today. Rials also continues his multiple roles at Fusion Marital Arts and continues to teach a number of courses at Tulane University. In 2017, with a 100% clean background record, Rials was hired as a professor of Adult Studies at Belhaven University.