Feature Stories

Giving back doesn’t have to mean making a major commitment. A few hours, a donation or simply helping spread the word can make a difference and UITS employees are being encouraged to find a way to get involved. UA Cares brings University of Arizona employees together through community service and giving. Some of its initiatives include the Annual Workplace Giving Campaign, United Way Days of Caring, UA 4 Food, the Employee Emergency Fund and campuswide blood drives.

Meet three UITS student workers who help support the University every day through the Tech Zone and 24/7 Support Center. Abby Lefevre, Grant Grunden and Sam Chavez-Hernandez share what led them to their roles, the skills they’ve developed on the job, and some of the most memorable ways they’ve been able to help students solve technology problems. They also talk about balancing work, school and their interests outside the University—from wheelchair rugby and student organizations to mariachi, drawing and time with friends.

University-owned devices follow a structured lifecycle that prioritizes reuse, cost savings, data security, and accountability. Departments retain ownership of the equipment they purchase, while UITS helps manage, secure, support, and eventually retire it. Devices are repurposed whenever possible; when disposal is necessary, University data is securely removed before the equipment enters the surplus process. Employees support this effort by coordinating with their department and UITS before discarding or returning technology.

For thousands of University of Arizona students, the start of the fall semester also means settling into a new home. They connect laptops to UAWiFi, stream shows, set up gaming consoles, swipe into buildings and check whether a washing machine is available. Making all of that work requires a complex technology environment operating largely behind the scenes.

With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, the University of Arizona needs to responsibly adopt and govern AI in practice. The Office of Responsible AI (ORAI) sought out faculty and staff leaders who understand AI’s implications for their areas of work and are motivated to help shape guidance for the university. Potential University of Arizona AI Fellows applied in spring 2026 and were selected at the end of July, including UITS senior information systems manager Matt Stoner. 

Technology is part of nearly every step of the college experience. Students use their NetID and 2-factor authentication to access university systems, rely on email for official university communications, connect to UAWiFi, use software for coursework and access online tools to register for classes, complete assignments and view grades. For students arriving at the University of Arizona for the first time, that can be a lot to navigate. 

If Zoom looks or behaves a little differently the next time you open it, you’re not imagining things. A series of recent and upcoming updates to Zoom Workplace is designed to make meetings easier to navigate, reduce interruptions, and give users more control over everything from screen sharing to meeting security. During a recent UCATT learning session, Malcolm Elliott, the university’s enterprise Zoom account manager, walked participants through the changes, including a redesigned interface and new meeting controls.

The university's Space Management and Flexible Work Policy was recently introduced to provide campus with guidance for documenting work locations and flexible schedule agreements. In conjunction with the new policy, the university also needed a place to collect this information which would ultimately be used to help improve space planning, campus safety, facilities management, regulatory compliance, and long-term workplace planning.

This fall, UITS is highlighting expanded technology support across campus, including university-provided GenAI tools, broader classroom assistance from Instructional Technology Services, improved access to the IT Service Portal and Tech Zone, and new AI-powered support features coming soon. The update also reminds the campus community to stay alert for increasingly sophisticated phishing and investment scams.

History and innovation come together at the The Coit Museum in the University of Arizona's R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. While its collections preserve centuries of pharmacy and health sciences, the museum is also embracing modern technology to make those stories more interactive, engaging and accessible for today's visitors. Founded in 1966 as an asset of the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy and the University of Arizona, the museum exists to connect people with the history of pharmacy and health sciences. Its mission centers on collecting, preserving and interpreting those histories so they can inform and inspire future generations. Every artifact, photograph and document contributes to a larger story about the evolution of medicine, education and patient care.