IT News, Updates and Links for a Successful Semester
This article was shared with the campus community via an email from Simeon Ananou on 9/16/2024
As we settle back onto campus for another year of learning, growth, and innovation, DoIT remains committed to supporting your success this academic year. We’ve been hard at work over the summer to enhance our services and ensure a smooth start to the semester.
Putting our Strategy into Action
The DoIT Hitting Our Stride strategy, aims to optimize and enhance the technological infrastructure and capabilities of the university. This directly supports the "Our Moment" vision by providing the necessary tools and resources to achieve the University’s ambitious goals, and is achieved through our three pillars, listed below. We know that technology is an essential part of your academic and professional life here at Stony Brook. Whether you're a student, faculty, staff member, or researcher, our goal is to make IT accessible and user-friendly. Ultimately, DoIT is eager to partner with you to achieve your goals.
Pillar 1: Enabling Innovation and Transformation
- Our Student Laptop Loaner Program was started in response to virtual classes being offered during COVID, and since 2020 this program has loaned out over 600 long-term laptops and over 50 short-term laptops per semester.
- We recognize that access to technology can sometimes be a challenge. Students who need access to SPSS, Microsoft Project or other software for coursework OR are looking to sign into Google overseas, may find help through our Virtual SINC Site.
- Over the summer, we've updated eight classrooms with state-of-the-art technology to create more engaging and interactive learning environments (keep an eye on SB News for the full story).
- Our team is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and is available to answer your questions, troubleshoot problems, and offer training on various software and tools.
- We've enhanced our website and redesigned the service catalog making it easier to find relevant offerings. The website is the best place to go for information about services and FAQs, prior to opening a ticket.
- As part of DoIT’s 32nd annual Bootcamp, five alumni served on a panel to discuss their journeys from DoIT undergraduate student employees to full-time professionals. The event was a celebration of DoIT’s ongoing commitment to provide experiential learning opportunities to our students who in return bring their talents to help us serve the campus.
- This summer, our Customer Engagement and Support Services team diligently worked to partner with Procurement, Student Affairs and the Library to develop and launch new service areas or portals within TeamDynamix.These innovative services are designed to provide comprehensive support to our diverse student community, ensuring they have the resources and assistance they need to thrive. Stay tuned as we have more departments across campus working with DoIT to launch their service portals to support the success of our community!
Pillar 2: Fostering Inclusivity and Professional Growth
On the eve of National IT Professionals Day, I would like to acknowledge the overall dedication of our talented IT staff to the mission of Stony Brook University. Additionally, I would like to congratulate some staff on several, recent accomplishments. Our team is composed of many outstanding individuals and the work they do empowers many areas of the University.
- Rachael Redhead is DoIT’s most recent SUNY Chancellor's award winner and joins past winners Firat Coskun (2021-22), Diana Voss and IT Partner Mark Lang (2020-21), and Jan Diskin-Zimmerman (2012-13).
- Raymond Chan and Richard von Rauchhaupt were also recognized for their work on the Stony Brook “Thank a Seawolf” Program with a SUNY CUAD Award for Excellence. Faculty and staff, if you haven’t already sent a gratitude gram to someone you work with, we encourage you to visit the website now!
- Jennifer Adams, Michael Basile, and Diana Voss (among other DoIT teammates) have been busy showcasing the work that Stony Brook is doing in areas such as AI, student employee development and stakeholder management at NERCOMP, EDUCAUSE and UCF’s Teaching and Learning with AI conferences.
- After the recent storm which delayed Student move-in, dozens of DoIT Staff came in early/stayed late to address the situation and ensure we were at fully functioning capacity.
Join Us: With a sharp focus on the success of our students, DoIT believes in empowering students to lead and provides experiences that develop their competencies in alignment with the Career Center’s ACES program. Each year we typically employ 200 student employees, this is equal to the number of DoIT staff. We can't do our job without our wonderful student workers! In addition to paid positions, we continue to grow our internship program. This summer we piloted the first Project Management internship. More internship opportunities will be available this Spring. We encourage students to check Handshake frequently! DoIT also has opportunities to join our professional team, open positions can be found on Taleo.
Finally, I would like to thank Jim Hart, Senior Director of Infrastructure, who after a devoted 36 years of service, prepares for retirement.
Pillar 3: Partnering to Modernize and Protect
We're thrilled to announce the establishment of Stony Brook’s Identity Management department. This marks a significant step in our ongoing efforts to modernize and protect our digital infrastructure.
Leading this crucial initiative is our newly appointed Director of Identity Management, Pulak Bhuiya! Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Pulak as he takes the helm and the innovative solutions this new team will bring to the table. They look forward to partnering with many areas throughout the organization as the project and program takes form. Let's all celebrate this exciting development and the bright future it holds for Stony Brook's identity management efforts and aspirations!
Our PeopleSoft Student Information System remains a mature and stable platform that supports many functions related to students academic records, course schedules, class rosters, financial information, to name a few. While there is no need to replace the entire Student Information System, its main interface (SOLAR) can benefit from some modernization. As a result, we are excited to engage key members of the campus community through focus group discussions later this semester to help us define and frame the SOLAR modernization efforts.
Final Remarks
In summary, the "Hitting Our Stride" IT strategy serves as a powerful enabler for the university's "Our Moment" vision. By providing the necessary technological foundation, it empowers students, faculty, staff and researchers to realize their full potential and contribute to the university's success. It also helps reinforce our commitment to digital equity as we strive to create a more efficient, connected, and impactful institution that is poised to make a lasting difference in the world. We're your partners in success. We look forward to a productive and successful year ahead!