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Columns::February 10, 2003
Provost search committee recommends five finalists
Federal Reserve System vice chair to give Charter Lecture
Literary society exhibit chronicles 200-year history on UGA campus
Black History Month celebrates du Bois’s Souls of Black Folk
WUOG’s Spanish-only radio program becomes a local staple
Campus Closeup
Retirees
Kudos
Looking for the perfect match
Broadening the horizons
Campus News
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| Brad Hunt, who is director of information technology in the Terry College of Business, is chairing the IT task force. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
Better connections
New task force studies information technology on campus
By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
If you think computing systems and services at UGA don’t function well, a new campus task force wants to hear from you.
If your office has trouble keeping skilled technology staff, or if your unit’s computing operations duplicate those in other offices, the task force would like to know.
If, on the other hand, there are things about computing at UGA that you like, or if your unit has a “best practice” that could improve information technology on campus, the task force also is eager to learn about that.
The task force, appointed by Arnett Mace, interim senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, has begun a comprehensive study of information technology on campus. The goal: to identify and correct shortcomings in the university’s IT systems and operations and to help make people who work in IT more satisfied and productive.
“Information technology is going to permeate the operations of the university in the 21st century, and we need to know how to structure and support all aspects of IT to enhance our missions of teaching, research and service,” says Mace.
UGA makes a sizable investment in information technology--an estimated annual expenditure of $75 million to $100 million at last count--but “with the anticipation of continued budget restraints, we need to review that investment to ensure that it provides optimal results,” says task force chair Brad Hunt, director of information technology in the Terry College of Business.
“The scope of this study impacts everybody from students to faculty to the president’s office,” Hunt also says. “We want to gather as much input from as many constituents as possible, then develop recommendations that best serve those constituents.”
The task force is setting up meetings with departments and individuals across campus to assess IT needs in instruction, research, public service and administrative services. The group plans to present a preliminary report to Mace by March 31.
Hunt says the task force’s definition of “information technology” is broad, and the scope of the study is just as open-ended, covering not only the amount and sophistication of IT equipment on campus, but also how IT systems function and interact, and the skill level and job satisfaction of people who manage and work with those systems.
“There’s a perception that UGA is falling behind other comparable universities in our IT capability and responsiveness,” says Hunt. “There also are inefficiencies in our processes caused by duplicate infrastructures in many units. We hope our recommendations will enhance the value of information technology by improving the availability and reliability of computing resources and support, by clearly defining IT priorities and by reducing duplication of efforts.”
In its meetings, the task force will ask campus units to describe their information technology priorities, and to report how much they spend on IT, what services they provide, what service improvements they would like to see, and what services they might shift to a central IT organization. They also will be asked to define their greatest challenges or barriers in IT, and to suggest ways to improve IT at the university.
The task force has already identified several problem areas. They include budgetary limitations on acquisition of new technology, the need for more collaboration among campus units, better training and professional development for IT personnel, better incentives or rewards to retain outstanding IT staff, improved relationships between academic and administrative departments and major IT units such as Enterprise Information Technology Services, and more efficient integration of data and applications.
Hunt says the group hopes its study will also help eliminate redundant services, improve security and anti-virus protection for computing systems, lead to more standardization of hardware, and increase automation.
The task force is scheduling meetings with individuals and units, but Hunt says panel members are eager to talk with anyone who has constructive ideas or suggestions for IT improvements.
“We’ll do anything from presentations to whole departments in large auditoriums, to private lunches with small groups, to one-on-one meetings with individuals,” he says. “We want to get in front of everybody we can, and get as much involvement as possible.”
Anyone wishing to meet with the task force should contact one of the following members:
• Kirk Bertram, Enterprise Information Technology Services, kbertram@uga.edu
• Andy Brantley, human resources, brantley@uga.edu
• Tom Burke, student affairs, tburke@uga.edu
• Chad Cleveland, finance and administration, cclevela@uga.edu
• David Hazinski, Journalism and Mass Communication, hazinski@uga.edu
• Brad Hunt, Terry College of Business, bjhunt@terry.uga.edu
• Bill Jackson, Instructional Support and Development, bjackson@uga.edu
• David Landau, physics, dlandau@uga.edu
• Tammy McGarity, external affairs, mcgarity@uga.edu
• Gary Moore, registrar, rrgdm@uga.edu
• Carol Watson, School of Law, cwatson@uga.edu
Suggestions for the task force can be e-mailed to ittf@uga.edu. |
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