Respected and appreciated across ITS and the University, Radcliffe has served as information security manager for five and a half years. Between April 2022 and February 2023, he also led the Information Security Office as its interim chief. Radcliffe acted as interim after Dennis Schmidt retired and before Paul Rivers took the helm of the Information Security Office.
Radcliffe’s time at UNC-Chapel Hill followed 29 years of working at Cornell University in upstate New York.
Radcliffe started at Carolina supporting Identity Finder and eventually took on the role of manager for the Risk & Compliance team. The team has provided support for risk assessments, the vulnerability management system for the University (Qualys), credit card support in collaboration with Finance, and support for security in research.
“It’s been an honor to work with the talented staff in the ISO,” Radcliffe said. “They do an amazing job of protecting the University and those associated with it.”
‘Kind team-focused leader’
The admiration is mutual. Larry Fritsche, a senior IT data security consultant who used to work with Radcliffe at the Information Security Office, chronicled a long slate of accolades about his former co-worker.
“I am not alone in saying that it was an honor to work with Mel Radcliffe, and he is one of the best security professionals that we have ever known,” Fritsche said. “Mel unselfishly serves the higher calling of the mission across UNC. He has effectively, collaboratively and pragmatically managed security and risk across the organization.”
Radcliffe is a “kind team-focused leader” who “exemplifies the Carolina way of working hard, smart and together,” Fritsche said. “He has genuinely earned the adoration and respect of his teammates and colleagues, along with a wide range of stakeholders, leaders and departments at the University. Mel has many fans across the UNC community and beyond.”
Accomplishments
Radcliffe wrestled with citing key accomplishments during his career.
“I’ve always enjoyed the work of IT knowing that it was helping to push the mission forward,” he said. “But it was working with the diversity of people and experiences that brought out the best in me. I always considered the development of an effective team as a key deliverable of every project I worked on.”
Radcliffe, meanwhile, “makes everyone around him better,” Fritsche said. “His empathy and heartfelt advocacy for his direct reports is admirable, and a significant reason why Mel consistently leads by example through the best of times and the not-so-best-of-times as well. Only the finest security professionals like Mel are able to consistently maintain this approach, and he could write a great book on being the calmest person in the room during the most difficult of moments.”
Humor boosted resiliency
One of Radcliffe’s traits that colleagues truly appreciate is his sense of humor. Never one to miss a chance at putting a smile on a face, Radcliffe has enjoyed keeping things loose while still maintaining his professionalism.
Radcliffe’s sense of humor enhanced “our office-wide resiliency while facing difficult situations common in the wild world of security,” Fritsche said.
“Mel will be missed, as much for his humor and steadiness with his team and the community as for his contributions to UNC,” added Paul Rivers, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Security Officer. “I’m grateful I had the opportunity to get to know Mel, and I hope he will find the occasion to check up on us from time to time in the years ahead.”
Pre-UNC
Before coming to North Carolina in 2015, Radcliffe worked in various roles at Cornell University. Those roles ranged from developer, network administrator, PeopleSoft support and information security. He managed staff for many of those years. He decided to leave Cornell and upstate New York for better weather and the opportunity to work at a respected research institute.
“I chuckle a bit when people here complain about a dusting of snow,” he said. “There were times in New York where I was the snowplow pushing through a foot of snow to get to work.”
Radcliffe graduated from State University of New York at Fredonia and found himself in his first job as a developer at the Cornell Law School.
There he met Debi, the woman who would become his wife. As in many things throughout his life, Radcliffe took a different path than most, falling in love with Debi and her three daughters, all under the age of 6.
“I was offered brain scans to make sure I knew what I was doing but the scans showed nothing,” Radcliffe said, demonstrating his always active sense of humor.
The couple added a fourth child, also a girl, and decided that four was enough. The grandchildren came next: five granddaughters and then a grandson.
The next chapter
When former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was asked by a reporter whether he was worried about Evander Holyfield and his fight plan, Tyson answered, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Planning and following through on that plan is easy when things go well. It’s much harder when facing difficult challenges.
“My punch in the mouth came about two and a half years ago when I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease,” Radcliffe said. “Suddenly, it seemed like I had to adjust my plan to consider these new challenges. Fortunately, with medication and awareness of how to take care of myself, things have, for the most part, stabilized. I also joined a fitness program designed specifically for Parkinson’s patients called Rock Steady Boxing.”
Yes, Radcliffe puts on the gloves and boxes, but no, he doesn’t hit anyone, just a heavy bag. It offers a workout for both body and mind, sharpening cognitive skills.
“My plan for this next chapter of my life is to spend more time with my family and look into volunteer opportunities with groups that provide resources to Parkinson’s patients and support providers,” Radcliffe said. “I’m also working on a series of articles — a blog — detailing how I deal with Parkinson’s. Perhaps that can help others on their journey.”