Donald Joseph Montabana, a former senior IT director of ISC Central Computing, passed away due to complications from COVID-19 on March 14. He was 75.

Mr. Montabana was born and raised in Bridgeport, CT. He attended Lycoming College, where he received a BS in physiological psychology, then earned a MS from Brown University in the same field.

His career with the University of Pennsylvania began in 1972, when he joined the School of Medicine. First he was a clinician in the department of medical ophthalmology, then, a year later, he joined the department of environmental medicine, conducting biomedical research on the effects of elevated and reduced atmospheric pressure on vision. In 1987 Mr. Montabana joined ISC’s Computing Resource Center as a computer and information systems specialist; six years later, he was promoted to department director of the Computing Resource Center, and in 1997, to senior IT director. Mr. Montabana also served Penn as interim IT director for the Technology Training Group, Penn Vet, Penn Dental, and the Office of Software Licensing, where he spearheaded the redesigns of their existing infrastructure and future technology direction. In 1996, Mr. Montabana was involved with a Task Force to Restructure Computing Services Across Penn, and he was a recurring voice in Almanac issues of the 1990s, giving computer users advice on how to deal with viruses.

Mr. Montabana joined Penn’s 25-year club in 1997, then left Penn in 2000 to pursue an opportunity with Akamai Technologies in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the director of global customer care. He and his team provided technical support for some of the largest online events at the time, including livestreams of Apple and Microsoft product introductions. He left Akamai in 2006 to return to academia—this time as director of client support services for the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, Mr. Montabana led the school’s web development, software engineering, licensing, computing resource management, training, support, and security staff prior to his retirement and return to the Philadelphia area in 2008.

Mr. Montabana is survived by his ex-wife, Barbara; his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth; and grandchildren, Kathryn, Miles, Benjamin, and Ezra.

Donation in Mr. Montabana’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society.