Welcome to Michael Medina
New Executive Director for Support Services brings IT leadership and people skills
Studying technology has always come easily to Michael Medina, but at heart he is a people person.
As the Director of IT Collaboration and Information Security at the College of Medicine, the most rewarding part of the job was finding compromise and collaboration between user needs and IT best practices. For example, if a researcher wanted to use their grant money to set up their own server under a desk, Michael enjoyed sitting down with them to truly understand their tech needs, then explain in plain language the liability of a PHI (protected health information) breach. He understood that the user was the expert in their field, but he was the expert in IT; his goal was to find an agreement together on a successful, secure solution.
Michael’s people skills also came into play when he was named the first Director of IT for Business Affairs Auxiliary Services (Bookstores, Student Union, and Parking & Transportation Services) a year and a half ago. He took three siloed departments and worked with their IT staff to streamline and optimize around best practices.
Michael brings these experiences and more when he joins UITS as the Executive Director for Support Services on March 20. He is particularly excited to join UITS during the rollout of the ASITS program, when communications and collaboration are key.
His agenda includes building relationships and understanding within Support Services, between his and other UITS teams, and with campus stakeholders and users. “It comes down to sitting down with people and understanding what they want,” he said. “I want to get everyone working together while trying to build trust by listening with an open mind.”
Going into those conversations, Michael brings 25 years of IT expertise, from Pima County Community Services, to TUSD, to 8 years of IT leadership positions at the University of Arizona. While working full time, he completed a BS in Technological Entrepreneurship and Management and an MS in Information Management from Arizona State University.
Michael participated in the University’s IT Leadership Academy’s 2015-16 cohort, building relationships with IT leaders across campus and gaining a higher-level understanding of the University’s goals. He was later named to ITLA’s Steering Committee.
These experiences and relationships will all come to bear as he takes on the Support Services portfolio: Service Continuity, 24/7 Support, and Self-Service & Training; Technology Lifecycle Care, Desktop Support, and Endpoint Management; the Office of Student Computing Resources; and Classroom Technology Services. UITS is happy to welcome Michael to this critical position.