I&IT newsletter

Winter, 2006 Volume 3, Issue 2

In this issue...

Welcome to the Winter Quarter and 2006. I&IT has been hard at work improving its services and directing its strategies. We expect 2006 to be a pivotal year for I&IT as we improve e-mail, permeate learning into everything we do and continue the Learning-Centered Technology Initiative. Below are updates on some of I&IT’s major initiatives, projects and people.

MAIL WILL GET BETTER FOR STUDENTS – Certainly at the top of the priority list is student e-mail. We know the old Intranet web mail application students are forced to use is at end-of-life. I&IT technical personnel and administrators are designing a replacement for this service. In early January, we invited campus technicians and other interested parties (including faculty members and students) to review our functional requirements so that we made sure we didn’t miss anything. Goal is to choose, procure and install a new student e-mail system by summer, 2006. Engineering is already set to pilot a trial version of one of the alternatives. Faculty and staff still using the old web mail at https://webmail.csupomona.edu/ should switch to Exchange. This can be accessed from many different PC and Mac mail clients, as well as on the web at http://exchange.csupomona.edu. I&IT recently hosted a gathering of faculty, staff and students to discuss specifications for a new e-mail system. The results of that meeting can be seen by clicking EMail Replacement.

FULL-SPEED AHEAD FOR NEW NETWORK - The last of the new Infrastructure Terminal Resources Project (ITRP) equipment was installed and activated on December 16, 2005, officially bringing ITRP to a successful close. A list of campus buildings upgraded as part of ITRP is available at ITRP Buildings . ITRP upgraded the old and slow network wiring and switching equipment in 52 buildings (about 60% of the campus) to new network gear with 100 Megabits per second connections, resulting in a ten-fold increase in the speed of data transfer. ITRP also added 45 wireless access points. For a list of wireless access points, see Wireless Coverage. Configured differently from previous connections, the new network will allow more users to obtain IP addresses automatically rather than having assigned IP addresses. The Virtual Local Area Networks (vLANs) have also been reconfigured to provide greater stability and security. The CSU Chancellor’s Office, all departments in I&IT and the university’s college and departmental technicians must be commended for working together to bring faster networking to the campus community. Special thanks to the group within I&IT Systems that directed this project: Susan Reese (project manager), Gabe Kuri (lead, networks), Mike Fowler, James Schneider and their student assistants.

PLANNING FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE -- As budget recovery has delivered the promise of additional university resources, all of the university’s divisions are engaged in prioritization & recovery (P&R) activities. I&IT’s Prioritization & Recovery Committee includes management and staff personnel from each of I&IT’s departments. I&IT has reviewed its Mission Statement and developed Core Values Statements. Also, underutilized services were identified and the necessary cuts were planned. Important projects like the Learning-Centered Technology (LCT) Initiative were made priorities. The I&IT P&R Committee was divided into three subcommittees—Programs and Services, Mission and Values, and Developing Assessment Criteria—to expedite the group’s efforts. During the fall quarter the subcommittees worked to create a comprehensive listing of I&IT programs and services. More detailed information on I&IT’s P&R progress is at Prioritization.

IT’S ALL ABOUT LEARNING -- During fall quarter members of the I&IT Learning Centeredness Task Force attended the first meeting of the University Wide Learning Centeredness Task Force. These members reported back to I&IT the necessity of infusing the university’s Learning Centeredness Initiative with the principles of “connective leadership.” These principles are meant to facilitate the shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered education while enabling I&IT personnel to respond with greater sensitivity to the needs and concerns of educators and students. Doing so, task force members believe, will help reconcile the two groups and re-focus the energy spent on resistance and counter-resistance to effectively implementing pedagogy, teaching strategies and instructional design in the creation of classrooms and courses that value students’ diverse ways of learning and incorporate the new technology essential to meeting the constantly evolving demands of a polytechnic university. As the Learning-Centered Technology Initiative and similar projects move forward, I&IT will work to ensure that connective leadership is a key facet of such efforts. A full-text version of the I&IT Learning Centeredness Task Force’s recent meetings is at I&IT LC .

UPGRADING STUDENTS, TEACHERS’ TECHNOLOGY – The Learning-Centered Technology Initiative continues at high speed. To date, 17 classrooms in Buildings 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 98 were upgraded with modern computer, Internet and projection capability. For a complete list, see Classrooms . Also, more tenured and tenure-track faculty members are receiving Dell and Macintosh laptops. The last batch of laptops arrived in December and early January. If you are a tenured or tenure-track faculty member and have not received your laptop yet, contact your department or college technician. For a list of technicians, see Techs .

OLD DIAL-UP, VOICE REGISTRATION SERVICES ENDING – As I&IT expands its services, we need to constantly assess existing services to see if they’re worthwhile and cost-effective. Two services that were judged not to provide cost-effective or needed service are the old-fashioned modem dial-up service and the voice registration service. Both are being terminated this month, following approval from the IT Governance Executive Committee. See http://www.csupomona.edu/~iit for details.

NEW EMPLOYEES, NEW POSITIONS -- With the beginning of 2006 I&IT is pleased to announce the arrival of several new employees and the promotions of others. Claudio Escobedo comes to us as a Help Desk representative. He joins us from Bally’s Total Fitness. He graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He will be working closely with Candie McDougall, Janet Rice and the Help Desk student assistants …Gabe Kuri has been promoted to lead for network administration. Kuri was previously an operating systems and network analyst in Systems …Teshia Roby is our new Instructional Designer for I&IT Learning. She comes to us with a Doctorate of Philosophy in Instructional Technology, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science. Prior to joining Cal Poly Pomona, Roby was a research faculty member and the lead Instructional Designer within the Office of Information Technology at Georgia Tech. She will be working on our on-line course development program and plans to utilize her professional experiences and dissertation research, Successful Peer Collaboration in Online Environments ... Saraswathi Kumathi is joining us as an Analyst/Programmer in Applications. Sara brings with her seven years of PeopleSoft experience as a contract programmer. She has worked at several universities including Cal State Los Angeles, Fresno State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Sara has worked on various PeopleSoft applications which include Finance, Human Resources and Student Administration … Tim Raymond comes to I&IT as an Analyst/Programmer in Applications. Most of you know Tim from his work with Admissions and on various projects, including Identity Management, the BroncoCard and the implementation and support of the Admissions module within Student Administration … Pauline Salim comes to I&IT Learning as our Learning Management Systems Specialist. She has a Master of Arts degree in Education with an emphasis in Educational Multimedia from Cal Poly Pomona. Before being hired as a learning management specialist, Pauline worked as a student assistant in Studio 6. This experience confirmed her desire to work in educational technology and provided her with invaluable hands-on skills. Pauline says, “My main goal is to get the faculty more involved with our Blackboard workshops. That way more and more faculty can feel comfortable using Blackboard. I want to provide the best possible Blackboard support.” She believes this can be accomplished by providing tutorial and online help resources .. Erick Zelaya has joined I&IT Learning as our Multimedia Developer. Erick is a Cal Poly Pomona graduate who worked with us on multimedia projects while he was a student. Since graduating, Erick has developed informational, promotional and training applications in Macromedia Flash for a number of corporations. Erick will be working in Studio 6 … Trevor Henderson joined I&IT Learning as video engineer, replacing the retired Art Phelps. Trevor comes to us from Lockheed Martin’s Technical operations unit at Vandenberg AFB. Trevor, who will be working closely with Imran Hamid in streaming video and videoconferencing services in I&IT Learning, will be responsible for the campus’ cable TV network. He’s no stranger: he graduated in 2003 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, and was a student assistant for us ... Nhein Tran has joined I&IT as an Analyst/Programmer in Applications. Nhein comes to us from Kaiser Permanente and has extensive PeopleSoft experience in Human Resources and Student Administration … Dennis Tilford has returned to I&IT in Operations. Dennis will be reviewing and upgrading equipment standards for the computer labs and classrooms. Already, he has made an impact: the staff training lab in 98 C5-15 was up and running almost overnight, thanks to Dennis’ quick work … Rita Haerr started her new position working for Stephanie Doda, our Associate Vice President. Formerly Rita was the Administrative Assistant for I&IT Learning for three years. Rita worked for Cal State San Bernardino as a department secretary for seven years before coming to Cal Poly Pomona. In her new position, Rita will be in charge of state-owned cell phones for the university, as well as tracking all the telecommunications billing ... And last but not least, Beverly Geuting, I&IT Applications, and Imran Hamid, I&IT Learning, have been promoted to Operating System Analyst, Expert level. Bev has made many contributions to PeopleSoft and other major projects, including the decomissioning of the old VMS-Banner system. Imran has been instrumental in making the university world-class in video streaming. Our streaming services, such as Commencement, are viewed worldwide.

HAPPY TRAILS TO RECENT RETIREES -- Dan Rozboril has retired after 30 years of dedication to I&IT at Cal Poly Pomona. Rozboril served us in a variety of IT roles and was committed to the advancement of the I&IT from its inception. During his final months with I&IT, Rozboril worked on the Learning Centered Technology Initiative Faculty Laptop Program. He is currently living in Fullerton and plans to spend his retirement traveling and fly fishing … Art Phelps, the campus’ long-time video engineer, has retired after 18 years. Phelps attended Cal Poly Pomona for his undergraduate studies in the 1960s and has been an integral part of the campus community. He will be spending his retirement relaxing in the Arizona countryside with his wife … Lona Dequer has retired from I&IT Learning after years of dedication to the success and promotion of WebCT and Blackboard. Dequer will continue to work in education as a community-corporate liaison for a special project with the Pomona Valley Unified School District … Monica Payton has retired from I&IT Learning after more than 30 years of service to the CSU. Payton has been with Cal Poly Pomona since 1984 and worked extensively with WebCT and Blackboard. She is now living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and plans to open an adult care facility … Donna Vargas has retired after more than 20 years of dedication at Cal Poly Pomona. She started as a trainee and worked her way up to a full-time computer operator. Vargas retired this fall to Moxee, Washington. She plans to spend her retirement knitting, opening up a knitting shop, body building and working as a personal trainer … Toni Mutz has retired after contributing as an administrative support person at Cal Poly Pomona since 1990. She has worked for the University Police Department, Human Resources and Disabled Student Services. Most recently, she worked for I&IT … Gloria McLean started working at Cal Poly in 1986 as the first member of the new Telecommunications Department. She administered the service for all university owned cell phones and telecommunications billing for 19 years. Gloria was active on Staff Council and The United Way Fund Drive. When asked what she was going to do when she retired, Gloria said “stop and smell the roses, take time for family, nature, travel and start a new routine.”

STUDENT ASSISTANT OF THE QUARTER -- I&IT would like to congratulate Linda Tran, who has been named the division’s student assistant of the quarter. Since June, Linda has been working in the office of I&IT Vice President Dr. Debra A. Brum. However, Linda has been a member of the division since 2003 when she was hired to help with the PeopleSoft implementation. Since then, Linda has been committed to the promotion and advancement of I&IT. Linda is responsible for a number of duties that keep her constantly engaged. Among these are the use of Visio diagrams and timelines, maintaining spreadsheets, managing mailman lists, updating and revising documents, maintaining a list of I&IT employees using state or private vehicles for state business, compiling documents for audits and performing data analysis. Linda says, “My role is to complete assignments and run tasks that help the office of I&IT VP run more smoothly and efficiently.” While keeping her busy, Linda enjoys the daily challenges such a position affords. “The most challenging,” she explains, “is trying to understand the ‘language’ that is used during meetings that are technical or specific to a procedure that isn't public knowledge. For instance, when an unfamiliar concept is presented during a meeting, the many suggestions, issues and decisions that follow can be hard to analyze in such a short span of time. If I don't understand a concept well enough, then I am not able to describe the decisions in detail; this is where I receive help from Debra. She revises my documentation of the meeting and I make comments for clarification.” In this regard, Linda plays an important role in the organizational productivity of the VP office. However, she is also quick to point out the efforts of Dr. Brum in this regard. Linda says, “I really admire the dedication and work that she puts forth into our division. She works on weekends and during the night when she should be relaxing. I find Debra to be a very humble and motivating person.” This past spring, Linda received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Information Systems and is furthering her education as a graduate student in Biology. When not working or studying, she enjoys playing video games, shopping, listening to music, singing karaoke, watching movies and spending time with family and friends.

FINAL PERSONNEL NOTE: TWO NEW DIRECTORS – Two I&IT directors are leaving the university for the private sector. Peter Deutsch, I&IT systems director, is departing to go to Lantronix, a computer network equipment company in Irvine, as director of product development. Carol Heins-Gonzales, I&IT applications director, is moving on to Union Bank’s Information Technology Group in Monterey Park, where she will be senior project manager. Both will be missed, and both accomplished much and made positive impacts on their departments, I&IT and Cal Poly Pomona. Mauricio Calderon, our CMS Director, will also serve as Director, I&IT Applications. Susan Reese, who was on loan from the Chancellor’s Office to finish the successful ITRP project, is now Director, I&IT Systems.

I&IT Leadership

Debra Brum Interim Vice President, I&IT	dabrum@csupomona.edu 909 979-6300
Mauricio Calderon Interim Director, Applications and CMS Technical Director	macalderon@csupomona.edu 909 979-6388
Curtis Clark Director, I&IT Web Development	jcclark@csupomona.edu 909 979-6371
Stephanie Doda Associate Vice President, I&IT	sndoda@csupomona.edu 909 979-6322
H’Sundiata Keita Director, I&IT Operations	hkeita@csupomona.edu 909 979-6427
David Levin Director, I&IT Learning	dslevin@csupomona.edu 909 979-6304
Denny Mosier Director, I&IT Support	dbmosier@csupomona.edu 909 979-6334
Susan Reese Interim Director, I&IT Systems	slreese@csupomona.edu 909 979-6344

“I&IT Newsletter” is a publication of the Instructional & Information Technology (I&IT) division of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA.

Send comments to Denny Mosier at (909) 979-6334 or dbmosier@csupomona.edu.

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