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Staff Milestones
Congratulations
to the following people for their years of service at Syracuse University:
- Jeffrey Bedell, information technology analyst - 10 years
- Stephen Rieks, associate director of Computing Systems & Support at ECM - 10 years
- Sherry Varney, information technology analyst - 10 years
- Craig Chartrand, instructional Tech Sr. Engineer - 20 years
Staff News Welcome James Bort who joined Academic Applications as a Web
Application Programmer. James was formerly employed as a Software Engineer at Partners in
Health Systems in Syracuse. He is a graduate of SUNYIT with a Bachelors of Science degree
in Computer Science and a minor in Applied Mathematics. James is located in
1-130 CST and can be reached via email at jmbort@syr.edu or via phone at 443-3465. Announcements April 23rd was
Administrative Professionals Day. A warm thank you to the following
administrative personnel for their support and valuable contributions to ITS
over the year: Sharon Darling, Susan
Heeley, Anna Hermann, Kimberly Hewell, Julie Hughes, Kim Kopp, Daniel Lowe, Jacqueline Meadows, Kathleen Pollard, Maureen Reilly, and Lorraine Sauro.
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ITS Out and About
Connecting with the campus and beyond
Welcome to a new section for ITS activities including ITS-sponsored presentations, on- and off-campus collaborations, and other off-campus events involving ITS.
Don Kilts from Learning Environments & Media
Production was named Student
Employer of the Year as part of Student Employee Recognition Week at SU. This is the second year he has received
this honor. Says Director of LEMP, Dave
Tiedemann, "Don has a real gift for recruiting and supervising our
student workers!" Congratulations, Don! L to R: Neil Strodel, Associate Vice President for Human
Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer;
Jonathan Bailey, Westcott Community
Center and recipient of the Off-Campus Student Employer of the Year; Steve
Susman, Westcott Community Center and recipient of the Off-Campus Student
Employer of the Year; Lane Crouse, dual winner of the Syracuse University and
New York State Student Employee of the Year; Don Kilts, ITS and recipient of the
On-Campus Student Employer of the Year;
Camille Donabella, Manager, HR Student Employment
Services.
Paul Gandel, vice president for Information Technology/CIO, made a presentation entitled "Branding - Selling Libraries and Librarianship When Not
Everyone is Buying" at the 2008
NELINET Director's Forum held at Northeastern University in Massachusetts on March 24.
Paula Maxwell from AASC organized a meeting of the NYCHES
group (New York Computing and Higher Education Symposium) that took
place here on campus on Friday, April 25. Eric Sedore presented "Migrating to AD" to the attendees. The schools represented at the
meeting were RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology), Utica College,
Ithaca College, Cornell University, SUNY Cortland, and Nazareth
College. Yin Wah Kreher and
Michael Morrison from AASC were guest presenters at a School of Education's graduate class
on Higher Education, HED 849 - Seminar in College Instruction,
on April 21. The presentation was entitled "Technology-enhanced
Learning in Higher Education." Paula Maxwell from AASC, J.R. McGrath from the Office of Student
Life, and Student Centers Program Services teamed up to bring
Microsoft's Digital Dorm Room (DDR) to campus on Tuesday, May 6. The DDR is a
program designed to bring new technology and solutions directly to colleges and universities across the country. Live product demonstrations showcasing
solutions from Microsoft and HP are offered aboard a 26-foot truck. DDR allows
college students, professors and staff to meet with experts and experience the
latest technology in a hands-on, interactive environment, enabling more informed
purchase decisions that will enhance their
potential.
Microsoft Digital Dorm Room on the road
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IT Professional Development ITS staff on the cutting edge of technology
Training & Education
Dave
Williams attended Synergetic Audio Concepts (Syn-Aud-Con), Sound Reinforcement
for Operators and Technicians training seminars in Ottawa held April 21-24. World acknowledged in the audio industry,
Syn-Aud-Con provides education for industry professionals for such companies as
Shure, Bose, JBL, Crown Clear One, QSC, and EV.
Michael Frasciello and Yin Wah
Kreher completed the Quality Matters Inter-Institutional Quality Assurance Peer
Reviewer online training conducted April 7-29 and organized by
MarylandOnline, Inc., a consortium for distance learning collaboration among
Maryland community colleges, colleges, and universities. Quality Matters is a
faculty-centered, peer review-based process that is designed to certify the
quality of online courses and online components. The following people attended Confluence Orientation Level 1 training held on April 21 and presented by Cindy Barry on campus: Cheryl Bonn, Phyllis Campbell, Melissa Gwilt, Susan
Heeley, Anna Hermann, Kelly Herr, Elizabeth Moore,
Rich Pitzeruse, Frances Skardinski, Melissa Tucci. The following people attended Confluence Orientation Level 2 training held on April 29 and presented by Cindy Barry on campus: Cheryl Bonn, Mylrae
Campbell, Kelly Herr, Nicole Skyrca, Anna Hermann, Elizabeth Moore, Lorraine
Sauro. Conferences & Forums
Donal Little and Michael Morrison attended the Making Connections Eportfolio Conference held April 10-12 at
Laguardia Community College in New York
City. Neal Coffey and Raymond Dow attended the
National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas held April 13-15. The NAB showcases the latest in HDTV
systems and equipment, presentation displays, satellite communications, and
infrastructure products for the communication industry. AnnMarie Kottman, Denise
Erwin and Melissa Gwilt attended a one-day conference sponsored by Carousel Industries. Presentations were given by Intelligent Communications, Verint, Nuance, and
others. Carousel's conference covered VOIP applications, Contact Center
solutions, Data networking, and Mobility solutions along with message
applications.
Ron Kurdziel attended Paetec's annual
Pinnacle Users Conference in San Francisco held April 22-25. The main focus of the conference was on version 6.1 of the Pinnacle Telemanagement System which will be released
this summer. Version 6 is a complete rewrite of the Pinnacle application
utilizing Oracle's APEX development
products.
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SafeConnect
Improving the computer registration process
This month, Network & Systems Management will implement a new system to improve the computing experience of students
registering their computers on the campus network in preparation for Fall
Opening. The product is SafeConnect by Impulse Point. In the past,
NSM used Hostreg and PCProtect to register the computers and ensure that anti-virus
software, Windows Firewall, and Windows Update Service were active on computers before allowing them onto the network. SafeConnect will be much more
flexible in the types of anti-virus products allowed as well as provide other
improvements to the student registration experience.
The new system will
be turned on for AirOrangeX and the Haven Hall wired-network on May 27,
2008. All students, faculty, and staff connecting to the AirOrangeX network on that day will see a web
page instructing them to download and install a small program. This program
will perform the normal compliance checks for active anti-virus software, Windows
Firewall, and Windows Update Service. However, for residential students, it
will enforce compliance requirements. Everyone else will simply be notified if
any of these products are not in compliance, and then allowed onto the network.
The product has been tested extensively with positive results by distributed staff (DSP's),
student consultants, and everyone on the help desk.
Please contact Peter Morrissey with any questions.Submitted by Peter Morrissey
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Network Master Plan
Spring update
The Network Master Plan is moving forward with work on six academic buildings,
the fiber plant, and network electronics as part of the five-year plan to
upgrade the campus network. The upgrade project scope ranges from outside and
interior construction work to reengineering the electronics that support the
academic and campus research needs to removal of outdated outside cable and
installation of new fiber.
Phase One of the inside plant work includes
network renovation of six buildings: two of the buildings are in construction
and the four are in the final design. The Center for Science and Technology
building is on schedule for an August completion. Link Hall will be completed in
September 2008 due to unanticipated conduit support issues. We will wrap up the
network designs for the Shaffer Art Building, Physics Building, Newhouse
Communication Center I and II this spring, and complete the network renovation
in those buildings in September 2008.
Phase Two of the inside plant work
is still in the budgetary planning stages as we continue to look for ways to
streamline the design and construction efforts. We are scheduled to receive new
budgetary numbers from the design-builder firm in May 2008.
Many of the
changes to the outside fiber plant are being done in conjunction with the new
construction work across the campus.
For additional information or
questions on the network upgrade, please contact Jenny Gluck.
Additional
network changes include replacing our leased network connect cable with fiber
optic cable between the north and south campuses. Unfortunately, the designers'
original plan had to be abandoned when a large water main was discovered in the
pathway of the new cable. A new design solution is expected to be completed this
spring.
For additional information or questions on the fiber upgrade,
please contact James Pampinella.
Submitted by Jenny Gluck
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Microsoft Office 2007 Upgrade
Coming to a computer near you
ITS will soon make
the Microsoft Office 2007 upgrade available to faculty and staff. This upgrade
will provide new features as well as stay in sync with the planned upgrades of
public labs and Registrar Classrooms to Office 2007 this summer.
Although
ITS will create the upgrade package and make it available to everyone in Active
Directory, the IT staff of each college and department will determine when to
make this update available to their respective units. During the transition
period, both Office 2003 and Office 2007 will be in use. Therefore, units should
continue to use the Office 2003 Compatibility Pack installation, which makes
Office 2003 files compatible with the Office 2007 product.
Since the Office 2007
interface does have a significantly different look and feel than Office 2003,
training will be available on handling the interface differences on an as needed
basis. Faculty and staff should check with their department IT staff about
training options and when to expect the upgrade to Office
2007.
For more information
or questions about the upgrade, please contact James Hopkins.
Submitted by James Hopkins
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From the CIO's Desk
Paul Gandel, vice president for Information Technology/CIO
I just got
back from a quick mini-vacation in the Cayman Islands.
It was an anniversary present to my wife who loves to scuba dive. She takes to
it naturally-I suspect she was a fish in another life. I, on the other hand,
have to work at it. Although once I get accustomed to being underwater, I do
enjoy it. Now I suppose you are wondering at this point "why is he telling us
all this?" Well, bear with me. There is a point here-it will just take me a
while to get to it.
The thing I
like most about scuba diving is neutral buoyancy.  For those of you who have never
dived, neutral buoyancy is equalizing yourself in water by adding just enough
extra weight to balance your body's natural buoyancy and the air in your
"diving vest" so that you float at a desired depth in the water. It's a very careful
balancing act that requires relaxation, while at the same time, being conscious
of your breathing patterns (which can change your buoyancy). Any little change
in one's breathing patterns or water depth can upset this delicate balance and cause
you to ascend to the surface or unexpectedly crash into the coral reef below. Neither
of these experiences is pleasant. However, when everything works just right,
nothing can compare to effortlessly and weightlessly floating along, watching a
fascinating world of undersea life go by. Unfortunately, just when I think I
have neutral buoyancy mastered and begin to relax, I make one little mistake
and go careening to the bottom of the ocean or bob to the surface.
As I was thinking
about this, it occurred to me that organizational success is much like diving. All of us in ITS should take pride in what we have
accomplished together. We are even starting to better balance our
workloads and demands. That said, let's not become
complacent. More challenges await us.
We, too, must guard
against losing our buoyancy. Like divers, or at least this diver, we need to
constantly try to improve our techniques.
My best
wishes for a great summer and, hopefully, each of you will have a chance to get
in some vacation time to relax. Just don't relax too much. Thanks
for all your hard work this academic year.
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IT Connections is published monthly by Information Technology and Services, CIO Office. The communications contact is Cindy Barry.
Story ideas can be submitted to the communications contact by the second Wednesday of each month. |
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