Feature Stories

Most of us working in higher education these days understand that many incoming
students have never known a world without technology that is centered around
them as individuals.

As we start a new year, it’s a good time to reflect on all the accomplishments and strategic initiatives the Division of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has put into place and the teams dedicated to bringing these priorities to fruition.

As IT professionals, we are often folks that are known to have the latest and greatest technology, both for personal and professional uses.

Technology and mental health at first don’t sound like they have much in common, but the more the two are dissected, it’s evident there are more similarities than nuances regarding how these two human essentials work at their best, most optimal performance.

Utilizing new processes and tools helps keep the University cutting edge, competitive, and leaders in education and research. One new technology the University has implemented, as presented during our 2023 IT Summit in the Tech Plunge presentation, is Regular Expression, or RegEx.

In today’s demanding environment of recruiting and retaining of top talent, one of the most pressing needs from organizational leadership is setting a path for strategic professional development that often results in growing future leaders. Whether in mid-career or just starting out, most people will tell you they want to see there is path to promotion.

212 staff in the CIO Division have Learner as one of their Top Five Strengths. Next is Achiever, in which 173 of us have it as one of our Top Five, and tied for third is Relator and Responsibility, each showing 160 staff having them as one of their Top Five Strengths.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and an important time to educate the University community about ways to remain safe from online threats.

Connecting people with processes and technology in a way that is achievable and easy to understand—that’s the goal in the CIO Division.

A new cat will soon join the computing power offerings of Puma, Ocelote and El Gato. This a yet-to-be-named “New Cat” is needed because of the growing consumption of data, a broadening of HPC use from more colleges across campus and the rise of AI.