Staff & Contact Information

Systemwide Compliance                  

210 W. 7th St.
Austin, TX 78701

Fax: (512) 579-5085
Email: systemwidecomp@utsystem.edu

Phillip B. Dendy

Chief Risk Officer

The Chief Risk Officer is responsible for the oversight and direction of the Office of Risk Management (ORM), Systemwide Compliance (SWC), and Office of Information Security (ISO).

Phillip B. Dendy

Phillip B. Dendy, CRM, CIC, DRM, serves as the Chief Compliance & Risk Officer for the University of Texas System (UT System). In this role he is responsible for the oversight and direction of three departments, the Office of Risk Management, Office of Information Security and the Office of Systemwide Compliance, collectively called RISC Services. These departments provide comprehensive risk management services to the UT System, its eight academic and five health institutions.

Mr. Dendy joined the UT System in 1995, and was responsible for administration of the UT System self-insured workers’ compensation program. From 1999-2003, Mr. Dendy served as Director of Business Administrative Services which included property and casualty insurance programs as well as facilities, accounting and purchasing, property management, travel, and airplane operations. In 2003 the Office of Risk Management was created where he has served as Executive Director providing comprehensive services including risk analysis, risk control, risk financing and claims management. He has overseen all of RISC Services since his appointment as Chief Compliance and Risk Officer in 2016.

Mr. Dendy earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Texas Tech University. He holds the designation of Certified Risk Manager (CRM) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) from the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research.  In 2017, the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA) awarded him the honor of Distinguished Risk Manager (DRM).

Mr. Dendy is a founder, of drops of grace inc, a non-profit faith-based organization partnering with organizations for water, health, hygiene, and community development projects in Malawi, Africa and Central America, and disaster recovery projects in the United States.

Last updated October 2023  

Cristina Blanton

Cristina Blanton serves as the HIPAA Privacy Officer and Counsel for the UT System. She specializes in state, federal, and international privacy protection laws, and serves as the designated HIPAA Privacy Officer for the UT System health and benefits plan which serves over 200,000 members across the state. Cristina provides training and guidance on various privacy related matters surrounding the use of technology with health and confidential data, as well as the legal implications of the use of artificial intelligence tools in the gathering, storing, and use with patient information, and other confidential data.

Cristina has more than 17 years of experience in legal practice working, advising, collaborating and providing state and local level government entities and officials with an understanding of complex and ever-evolving laws and regulations. Prior to joining the Systemwide Compliance Office, Cristina worked for the Texas Association of School Boards as Senior Attorney and Special Risks Consultant, advising Texas school districts on issues related to student privacy, data security, breach response and myriad other school-business matters. Cristina provides state wide and national support and expertise to higher ed, healthcare, and student focused industry non-profit organizations.

Last updated September 2024

Jennifer Kennedy

Jennie Kennedy serves as the Associate Systemwide Compliance Officer and Privacy and Data Protection Officer. In this role, Jennie collaborates with colleagues and institutions to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of confidential information across the University of Texas System. Jennie specializes in privacy law, including FERPA, and provides specialized training and guidance to system administration and institutions on all matters related to privacy and data protection.

A licensed attorney and a Certified Information Privacy Professional, Jennie has spent her career working in education and state government. Prior to joining the Office of Systemwide Compliance, Jennie established the privacy program at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, creating policies, developing training programs, and providing counsel to executive leadership. Jennie has also worked as a Chief of Staff and General Counsel in the Texas House of Representatives and as Director of Policy for the University of North Texas System.

Last updated October 2024

Trey Atchley

Trey Atchley serves as the Chief Inquiry Officer and Chief Research Security Officer. His responsibilities include conducting and managing investigations involving allegations of misconduct within System Administration and matters referred to U.T. System by the fourteen U.T. institutions. In his role as Chief Research Security Officer, Mr. Atchley works closely with U.T. institutions as they address research security and foreign influence risks associated with their classified, export controlled, and unclassified research.

Prior to joining the U.T. System, Mr. Atchley served as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for approximately 21 years. In that capacity, he investigated violations involving criminal and national security matters, provided instruction in crisis and hostage negotiation matters, and interview and interrogation topics. Mr. Atchley served as the San Antonio Division Crisis Negotiation Coordinator responsible for managing responses to domestic crisis situations and international kidnappings for ransom.  Mr. Atchley also served as a Department of Justice Mediator, and EAP Counsellor.

Mr. Atchley received his BBA from The University of Texas at Austin and his JD from the SMU Dedman School of Law.

Last updated October 2024

David Givens

David Givens serves as the University of Texas System Administration Compliance Officer. His responsibilities include providing support to System Administration departments in identifying and prioritizing their compliance risks, and partnering with them to help prevent, detect and remedy noncompliance.  In addition, David provides support to the Medical Billing Compliance Subcommittee of the Institutional Compliance Advisory Council.

Prior to joining U.T. System, Mr. Givens held various finance management and controller positions for 15 years at Dell, Intel and AMR (parent of American Airlines). His responsibilities at Dell included serving as controller accountable for all financial aspects of the vendor funding program which had revenue in excess of $100 million annually, and providing financial support to product development teams for the Storage line of business. While at Intel his responsibilities included supporting the worldwide corporate capital acquisitions operations team in purchasing capital fabrication equipment in excess of $2 billion annually.

Mr. Givens received his BBA and MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional.

Last updated October 2023

Krista Anderson

Krista Anderson serves as the Systemwide Title IX Coordinator for The University of Texas System. Ms. Anderson’s responsibilities include providing systemwide guidance, training materials, and resources on Title IX and sexual misconduct, Clery Act and VAWA requirements, and Youth Protection Programs for minors on campus. She creates systemwide training curriculum on Title IX/sexual misconduct prevention and response tools, case management, pregnancy and related conditions, sexual misconduct investigations, informal resolutions, crisis management and threat assessment, avoiding bias and conflicts of interest, and on various adjudication roles, among others.

Ms. Anderson’s career highlights in student affairs and higher education includes overseeing a campus-wide Title IX program, developing victim advocacy services for students, administering a campus-wide crisis management program for student emergencies, managing threat assessment and behavior intervention strategies for student wellness and safety issues, and working in residence life and academic/graduate affairs in various capacities.

Ms. Anderson previously served as the Associate Vice President and Title IX Coordinator for The University of Texas at Austin, and she was with U.T. Austin for almost 7 years in various roles before joining the U.T. System Administration in 2019. Ms. Anderson earned a B.S. in Applied Sociology, and an M.Ed. in Counseling and Guidance (with an emphasis in student affairs), both at Texas State University.

Last updated October 2023

Angela Ossar

Angela Ossar serves as the Records & Data Management Officer for University of Texas System Administration, providing leadership and support to System Administration departments in developing policies, records retention schedules, and best practices guidance to ensure adherence to state and federal rules for records and data management. She collaborates with partners across System Administration on focused projects to ensure the appropriate identification, capture, preservation, and disposition of records and data in all formats. As the Systemwide Records Management Officer (RMO) and Data Management Officer (DMO), she also has the pleasure of collaborating with and connecting RMOs and DMOs at UT System’s 14 institutions.

Ms. Ossar brings a multitude of archives and records management experience to System Administration. Prior to joining the Systemwide Compliance Office, she directed the Records & Information Management program of the Office of the Governor, served statewide clients at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and created a University Archives program for the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Ms. Ossar received a BA from The University of Texas at Austin and an MSLS from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a Certified Records Manager and chairs the Career Support Programs Committee of the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA), supporting NAGARA’s Internship, Mentorship, GARA Certificate, and Travel Grants programs.

Last updated October 2023