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| Quick Notes
ITS Staff Milestones
Congratulations to the following people for their years of service at Syracuse University:
- Andrew Joncas, Information Technology Analyst - 10 years
- Kim Kopp, Budget Manager - 15 years
- Peter Morrissey, Information Technology Architect - 15 years
Announcements
After almost 19 years of service, Liz Kahl is calling it a career. Liz spent her years at SU mostly in LEMP working closely with many faculty on campus. She also spent time working for ECS and finished her tenure with the ITS Service Center group. Liz plans to enjoy her retirement with her family, gardening and pursuing studies in the ministry field. Congratulations Liz, and thanks for all the good years! |
Updates
Keeping current with software, systems and devicesLee Badman, Wireless Network Engineer, notes the increasing use across campus of Bluetooth devices such as wireless keyboards and mice, whiteboard systems, and webcams. If you are buying new systems, he advises that you avoid early versions of Bluetooth (version 1.1 or older) and instead opt for Bluetooth 1.2 or 2.0. These newer versions are less likely to interfere with or be affected by AirOrange/X.
Software upgrades to the computers in the Public Labs will necessitate the closing of each lab for a few hours sometime between August 4 and 15. Email stations across campus will be upgraded between August 18 and 22. A detailed schedule will be available soon. The major upgrades include installation of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium (which includes Acrobat 9.0 Pro), Microsoft Office 2007, and Visual Studio 2008. Other applications that will be installed are Google Earth, PDF Creator, FreeMind, Irfanview, Skype, Write-n-Cite, AtlasTI, and SQL Management Studio Express. | |
ITS Out and About
Connecting with the campus and beyond
More than 6,100 runners and walkers from 268 companies filled Onondaga Lake Parkway Tuesday evening, June 26, for the 2007 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Syracuse. On the Syracuse University "Fun in the Sun" team of 170, we had good representation from ITS, including runners Neal Coffey, Ray Dow, Phil Driscoll, Roxane Niezabytowski, June Szymanski, and our unofficial team captain, Kelly Herr; and walkers Marilyn Butler, Mylrae Campbell, Myra Daly, Don Kilts, Marlon Legaspi, Liz Moore, Rich Pitzeruse, Kathy Pollard, Dave Tiedemann, and Joan Weeks. Several participants turned in extraordinary performances with Neal being the first SU man to cross the finish line and Roxane the third SU woman to cross the line. Steve Sartori was there taking photographs. The University won an award for largest participation. The annual race this year benefited two local charities, Junior Achievement of Central New York and the Make A Wish Foundation, Central New York. Congratulations and thanks to everyone!
For the past two years, Maureen Breed, Registrar, and Dave Tiedemann have co-chaired the Classroom Committee under the sponsorship of Eric Spina, Vice Chancellor and Provost. Ray Dow, manager of Learning Environments serves on the Classroom Committee, as does Jim Pampinella in NSM. Dave facilitated the June 10th meeting after which responsibility for co-chairing the committee passed on to two other committee members for the 2008-2009 year.
Dave Williams and Dave Tiedemann also served on the Mayfest committee, and expect to continue to do so in the coming year.
ITS-LEMP has formed a new advisory committee called the "Lab Image Advisory Committee" (LIAC). This technical advisory working group oversees the public labs and the lab image used by the distributed units. The members of the committee are a combination of DSP's and other relevant IT staff from various departments around campus. They consist of John Capozzolo - Chair (LEMP), Joseph Foote (Bird Library), Paula Maxwell (Education), Elizabeth Moore (LEMP), Stuart Rotblat (Whitman), Anthony Rotolo (iSchool), Eric Sedore (NSM), David Tiedemann (LEMP), and Dennis Wenthen (A&S). The group has been meeting every two weeks since April 14 and is currently in the process of updating/modifiying public imaging procedures. Other topics LIAC will address include:
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IT Professional Development
ITS staff on the cutting edge
Conferences & Forums
Paul Gandel attended the ECAR 2008 Summer Symposium "IT and Future of Exploration" in Boulder, CO, on June 9-11, 2008.
As an EDUCAUSE Leadership Program Faculty member, Paul Gandel participated in the EDUCAUSE 2008 Institute Leadership Program in Boulder, CO, on June 22-26, 2008. He taught two sessions on "Communication, Collaboration and Partnerships," joined Marilu Goodyear (Associate Professor of Public Administration at University of Kansas and an ECAR Fellow) for a session on "Information and Technology Policy," as well as participated in a panel regarding "Our IT Business and IT Higher Education Issues."
David Harris, Process Analyst in Enterprise Process Support attended the Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP) "Using ITIL to Improve Your Processes" on June 3 at Wesleyan University. ITIL, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a process-based framework for more effectively managing IT services.
Andy Clark traveled to Cornell and met with peers from six other universities to share information and best practices, and talk about challenges and successes of project management offices in higher education. The group consisted of staff from Cornell, Carnegie-Mellon, MIT, Penn State, Princeton, University of Rochester, and Syracuse. They discussed the subject, developed an overview of all seven organizations and drafted a charter for the group's interaction.
Dave Tiedemann attended the NERCOMP workshop, "Multimedia Teaching Spaces--Chalkboards to Smartboards and Everything in Between" June 3, 2008 at Wesleyan College. The workshop topics included in-house AV installation, student collaboration rooms and laptop loaner programs, design and support issues, and network maintenance and control of classrooms through Crestron's Room View system. Approximately 60 attendees from 40 colleges and universities participated in five presentations from seven presenters representing five institutions.
Training & EducationMark Schnell, a Sr. Instructional Technology Engineer with Learning Environments, attended manufacturer's training at BIAMP in Portland, OR from April 28-May 1. The training focused on the company's AUDIA digital audio processors products, which will be installed in the larger venue classrooms and Atrium area of the new Life Sciences Complex building, scheduled to open this fall. The training covered how to properly design, program and test these systems, and provided the opportunity to collaborate and share experiences with other A/V installers from around the US and Canada.
Joan Weeks from IS - Data Warehouse group completed the Hyperion Advanced Query and Dashboard Design class.
Denise Erwin of Telecommunications attended a Fred Pryor Seminar, "Managing Multiple Priorities" here in Syracuse.
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Board of Trustees Approves
New Green Data Center
Ensuring reliable, secure and sustainable campus computing
At their July 2008 meeting the SU Board of Trustees approved ITS's proposal to design and build a new green data center, with a target opening date of mid-2009. The Board's decision will enable ITS to take great strides toward achieving its vision of an outstanding technology environment that strengthens existing connections and enables new connections within the University and beyond. The decision couldn't come at a better time. It's been forty years since any significant improvements were made to the Machinery Hall Data Center, and it's showing its age. Many replacement parts must be fabricated because they are no longer available for purchase. The "uninterrupted" power supply is a portable generator. The power system in Machinery Hall is at capacity and will not support needed systems much longer. All network file storage resides in Machinery Hall along with applications such as Blackboard, MySlice and all email. The administrative systems housed in the data center are mission critical for the University and must be maintained and protected. ITS, in partnership with the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, is developing creative ways to leverage campus resources. The goal is to connect research funding opportunities with corporate and government sponsorships to not only ensure the ongoing and growing capabilities and security of current and future university systems, but to do so in a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable and responsible manner.  This new "green" data center will help position SU as a leader in energy-efficient data centers and create new research opportunities for faculty. In addition, by increasing security and disaster recovery capabilities, this effort will respond to external stakeholders such as the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and internal stakeholders such as our own Board of Trustees. In addition to advanced energy-efficient information technology like virtualization and liquid cooling, the green data center would incorporate state-of-the-art building systems. These could be a combination of HVAC and "building envelope" technologies with software, instrumentation and control systems to maximize the facility's Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). This unique combination in a campus data center of advanced building mechanical and engineering systems and advanced IT technologies will create a fertile environment for faculty research, and the data center will be designed with this in mind from the start. More details will be forthcoming as the project develops. |
PeopleSoft HRSA 9.0 to Go Live September 29
Only two months to go!
The implementation project for upgrading the University's PeopleSoft Human Resources/Student Administration system (HRSA 9.0) will be completed over the weekend of September 26, 2008. The HRSA 9.0 system will "Go-Live" on Monday, September 29, 2008. This transition will require that the PeopleSoft HRSA system be unavailable for normal work between Thursday evening, September 25, and Monday morning, September 29, 2008.
PeopleSoft HRSA is the system that enables students, faculty, and staff to access their critical University information resources, including academic information, course selection, class registration, class schedules and rosters, online grading, advising information, student records, payroll and budget information, benefits information and others. This upgrade will keep us current with a supported version of this software. It also will ensure that we stay up-to-date with critical state and federal tax updates. Moreover, the upgrade will provide additional benefits like greater reliability and making the system easier to use.
More than 150 SU employees have contributed to the upgrade project. Their input and insights have enabled the work of more than 50 ITS staff. "The entire technical team has done a great job. They are moving us to a completely new infrastructure by putting together all the pieces and refining the upgrade pass process so that our production environment and functionality is ready for the Lifecycle Testing Phase," said Linda Saul, Project Manager. "There is a good synergy between the technical teams, functional areas and the campus at large. This has truly contributed to proactive thinking and prepares us well for go-live weekend."
According to Erik Anderson, Director of Information Systems, "Our goal is to make this upgrade as seamless and non-disruptive as possible. Regular and frequent communications with the SU Community started June 26 to give advance notice of when the upgrade will cause the system to be unavailable so that work can be planned accordingly."
The PeopleSoft HRSA 8.0 system will be taken down starting at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, 9/25/08. The upgrade will occur over the weekend and is targeted to be functional the morning of Monday, 9/29/08. During the weekend, batch processing will not be available. The Data Warehouse, MyReports and PeopleSoft HRSA 8.0 will be available for browsing on Friday, 9/26/08. At this time we are NOT planning for any browsing capability to be available on Saturday, 9/27/08. The Data Warehouse and MyReports will not be updated after Wednesday night processing on 9/24/08. PeopleSoft HRSA 8.0 will not be updated after 5:00 p.m. on Thursday night, on 9/25/08. No updates will be saved after the dates indicated until the upgrade goes live. If you have a critical and essential need for browsing capability on Saturday, 9/27/08, please contact Linda Saul, Project Manager, at lsaul@syr.edu or x2690 as soon as possible. To help user groups transition to the new upgraded system, Town Meeting global training sessions will start 8/22/08 and be offered on several dates through 10/31/08. Functional areas (Student Records, Bursar, Human Resources, and others) will offer specific training for their individual areas. These training sessions will go over the changes brought about by the upgrade and provide advice as to how to take best advantage of these changes and avoid problems or disruptions to operations. As the Go-Live date grows near, you can visit http://its.syr.edu/hrsaupgrade/ where current information will be posted as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns don't hesitate to contact the Functional Application Specialist in your administrative area or the PeopleSoft Upgrade Team leads: |
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Sustainable Web Content Management Grows Near
Streamlining the delivery of web-based information
The Content Management project, a partnership between ITS and the Office of Institutional Advancement, is nearing the realization of a sustainable Web Content Management System (WCMS) service. WCMS, based on Hannon Hill's Cascade Server application, will be available to produce and manage the content of the University's official web pages/publications including those that have been created by colleges, schools, departments or administrative offices for University academic and business functions. Potential benefits of a WCMS include:
- A more consistent look and feel throughout a site
- The delegation of content creation and maintenance to content knowledge owners
- Multiple format delivery (PDF, text, mobile, print, etc.) of common content
- The ability to schedule publishing of content
In late May technical web developers from several areas attended a two-day training class led by Hannon Hill Services. The class focused on advanced web site implementation and management using Cascade Server. Topics covered included application interface, metadata and structured content, creating templates from existing web pages, working with XML and XSLT/XPATH, transforming structured data into XHTML, automated navigation creation, developing user-friendly content creation methods, and publishing from WCMS to an external Web server. Attendees included staff from:
- The College of Human Ecology
- Enrollment Management
- Human Services and Government Relations
- Information Technology and Services
- Institutional Advancement
- Syracuse University Library
- University College
This initial group of developers is in the process of creating pilot web sites for each of their units. In addition to these sites, the Content Management project team is creating templates for use by other areas that don't require customized web designs. These templates will give departments and offices the flexibility to create unique web sites that maintain the University's visual identity standards, and also comply with organizational standards and technical specifications. It is anticipated that mid-fall, with the University's new home page design selected and implemented, additional templates (based on the new look and feel) will be made available.
The content management application will be hosted and supported centrally. System space will be allocated to allow administration and management by departments' and offices' distributed IT/web support. Managing the space will include allocating space for individual web sites and basic user administration. Web site managers will be able to assign user access to their sites. This allows departments and offices to have the freedom to create and manage their web sites independently and efficiently. Local support will help ensure that sites are consistent with the purposes and goals of individual colleges, schools, departments, and administrative offices. More information will be available soon concerning access to and use of the WCMS service. In the meantime, you can contact Eric Mumpton at x3160 or emumpton@syr.edu. |
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First Year Honored at 29th Annual Telly Awards
VPU Project Reaps Honors
"First Year: Episode 2", produced by ITS's Video Production Unit (VPU), won a silver Telly Award in this year's competition in the health and wellness category. Don Torrance, Associate Professor, and Fiona Chew, Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, were Executive Producers for the program. First Year was directed by Neal Coffey, Manager of VPU (at right in photo). The program was written by Bron Adam from the Office of Faculty Development. Mary Kasprzyk (VPU) was Associate Producer and Editor (at center in photo). Roxane Niezabytowski (VPU) was Associate Producer and Sound Recordist (at left in photo). Several VPU work-study students served as Production Assistants.
The Telly Awards honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions and work created for the web. Since 1978, the Telly Awards have been the most prestigious awards in advertising and video and film production and have recognized the finest in creative work. Winners include the most creative agencies, production companies, in-house creative departments and TV stations in the world. The 28th Annual Telly Awards received over 14,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents.
First Year is a drama set at a fictitious university and focuses on student health issues including food, smoking, alcohol abuse, and unsafe sex. The program features two students and their friends from their first arrival on campus, and follows the conflicts that arise as they balance academics and social life while living in a residence hall. The story of their struggle with the fine line between potentially risky behavior and healthy lifestyles is intended to raise awareness of health issues in a college environment and promote discussion among viewers.
First Year was produced as part of the Syracuse University campus Healthy Monday Campaign which promotes Monday as a day dedicated to increasing health awareness, empowerment and action.
Episodes one and two of First Year have been running on the Orange Television Network (OTN) this past academic year. VPU has just concluded filming of the next four episodes at more than 45 locations around SU. These episodes will be edited in the next few weeks and will run on OTN this fall. The executive producers are currently exploring distribution at other universities and colleges.
For more information, contact the Video Production Office at x5644. To view clips of the show go to http://vpu.syr.edu/firstyear.
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| From the CIO's Desk
Paul Gandel, vice president of Information Technology/CIO
Riding the Winds of Change
Since I came aboard almost four years ago, there's been a sea change in leadership at Syracuse University. The arrival of Chancellor Cantor and her vision of Scholarship in Action, along with the appointment of new deans for more than half the schools and colleges in the University have brought new ideas and direction, posing new challenges and opportunities as the institution adapts to the challenges of an ever-changing world.
In that same time, I've had the privilege of working with you to build an organization that can support the University as it heads on its new course. New reporting lines, a department name change, the development and maturing of the Technology Leadership Committee (TLC) along with the relationships and collaboration it has fostered, and the emergence and refinement of LEMP and AASC are only some of the ways our collection of once widely dispersed teams have coalesced into what we now recognize as Information Technology and Services (ITS). I hope these changes have brought us closer to functioning as a single organization with the goal of providing the University with the best IT services possible. Moreover, I believe our vision emphasizing cooperation and greater connections to the campus community (http://its.syr.edu/cio/vision.cfm) is proving effective as a guiding principle for what we do.
It's clear, though, that we need to continue to cultivate this spirit of cooperation and teamwork throughout ITS. We need to continue to forge an organization that ignites, preserves, and rewards creativity, agility, productivity, and innovation while developing new systems and processes to support the University and its mission, students, faculty, and staff.
Therefore, the ITS leadership team, with your help and support, will launch an initiative designed to ensure that our organizational culture will sustain the values of excellence, citizenship, and professional enjoyment. Our goal will be a culture of self management, coordination, collaboration, and accountability at all levels of our organization, a culture which embraces continuous improvement, professional development and skill building. This will prepare us to meet the challenges of a constantly changing technology environment and constantly evolving requirements of our colleagues and clients. I believe the only way we can meet these challenges is to ensure that we keep on finding ways to harness our collective intelligence more effectively and deftly deploy our resources with even greater dexterity.
Creating a strong ITS culture that we can all embrace will be successful only with your support and active involvement. We need your input to refine and develop the culture we will share. I look forward to your insights and interactions, and thank you for your support thus far. With your continuing support I'm confident we will be excellent at what we do, meet or exceed our commitments, and, most importantly, have fun doing it. Together we can ride the winds of change and not be blown away. | |
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IT Connections is published monthly by Information Technology and Services. Story ideas can be submitted to Chris Finkle by the third Wednesday of each month. |
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