IT News

It’s easy to take today’s research technology for granted. But looking back reveals just how transformative the journey has been and how intentional investments have made discovery possible. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, scientific research became more collaborative, data-driven, and dependent on computing power that extended beyond a single lab or campus. At the University of Arizona, technology teams were responding in real time, building the infrastructure needed to support a new era of networked research.

As the University of Arizona observes Data Privacy Week,Jan. 26 – 30, we have an opportunity to reflect on how data is collected, managed and used across the institution. In a university setting, data privacy extends beyond keeping information confidential; it centers on responsible data use, thoughtful design and trust.

Prospective students who have applied to the University of Arizona start getting acceptance letters on January 15. This year, their process for completing all the important tasks needed to enroll at the university will be much easier. The Next Steps Center has been rebuilt in the UAccess Student Center, where students already go to access much of the academic and financial information and forms they need.

In a world where nearly every class has an online component, computer literacy is no longer a “nice to have” for teaching and learning at the University of Arizona; it’s essential. For instructional designers in the University Center for Assessment, Teaching, and Technology (UCATT), computer literacy means more than knowing which buttons to click. It’s about creating digital learning spaces that are clear, accessible, and truly usable for both instructors and students.

The fall semester is winding down and as the holiday season settles in, gratitude naturally becomes part of our conversations, gratitude for moments of connection, for teamwork, and for the people who make our work meaningful. While Thanksgiving has passed, the spirit of appreciation extends well beyond November. Across University Information Technology Services (UITS), that gratitude shows up in the ways we support one another, collaborate across teams, and build the technological foundation that keeps the university running.

At the University of Arizona, Veterans Day is more than a moment of recognition. It’s a reflection of the university’s ongoing commitment to those who serve. From the nation’s top-ranked ROTC programs to the support provided through the Veterans Education and Transition Services (VETS) Center, Arizona continues to champion opportunity, belonging, and success for veterans and military-affiliated students.

Behind every swipe of a CatCard, click in CatCloud, or update in Trellis, countless systems quietly talk to one another – and that’s where Boomi comes in. Boomi is a cloud-based integration platform used by the University of Arizona’s UITS Enterprise Integration Platform Services team to help campus systems share information quickly, safely, and automatically.

When most people think about the technology that powers the University of Arizona, they picture websites, classrooms and email. Few realize there’s an entire world of servers—thousands of them—quietly working behind the scenes to keep those systems alive. That’s where David Gay, Director of Server Administration and Security, and his team come in.

Now there is just one site to create and manage your university username, password and 2-Factor Authentication (2FA)—netid.arizona.edu. When the university first implemented Duo for 2FA, it was a nice-to-have add-on to help secure NetID logins. It has since become mandatory at the university, and 2FA is more widespread for other accounts. Rather than an add-on, it is integral.

At the University of Arizona, a new kind of outpatient clinic is opening doors, virtually. The AI Outpatient Clinic, developed through a collaboration between the Center for Transformative Interprofessional Healthcare (CTIPH), UITS iDX, and Campus Web Services (CWC), is helping health sciences students strengthen one of the hardest-to-teach skills in medicine: empathy.