The university’s Information Technology Council revamped its membership to include a broader representation of the campus community, including more deans and students to better serve the campus’ tech needs, Office of Information Technology officials said.
Although the IT Council will not operate differently, the wide spectrum of membership will allow the council to cover planning and infrastructure needs more thoroughly, said Jeffrey Huskamp, OIT vice president and chief information officer. The committee will reconvene Jan. 28.
“These are people who can sit down and make policy decisions on campus,” Huskamp said. “I’m really excited about it. It can move campus forward in new technology initiatives.”
The IT Council’s technology infrastructure responsibilities on the campus include e-mail system maintenance, wireless service initiatives, disaster recovery and control of the university’s bandwidth, which is the amount of information that can be transferred.
One of the council’s goals is to make the university one of the top 25 public universities in the nation for technology capabilities, Huskamp said. The university is ranked below the top 100, he said.
He also said security on the university’s computer network is a primary concern.
There are 25 total members, including five deans, on the IT Council’s prospective roster. The 2004 council had 17 members and three deans. While the council had no student leadership in 2004, Student Government Association President Aaron Kraus will represent undergraduates, and Austin Parker of computer sciences will represent graduate students next year.
Kraus said his top priority will be to update the Testudo website’s technology. The site is five to 10 years out of date and needs to be more interactive, he said. Websites such as Carnegie Mellon University’s display student accounts and activities in a more convenient format.
“As long as the council is serious about shared government, as in the student voices will not be marginalized, I think students will see a big impact in technology services,” Kraus said.
The 2005 IT Council will also include more direct leadership from university departments. Linda Clement, vice president for student affairs, is listed as a prospective member. Assistant Vice President Warren Kelley represented student affairs on the council last year. Senior Vice President and Provost Bill Destler will represent academic affairs, replacing Associate Provost Vic Korenman.
