Open Letter to UF IT Staff

Open Letter: New CIO Search, And Other Things

There is nothing quite like the beginning of a fall term to remind us that change is constant and natural in universities. A substantial amount of stability is also natural. It is really hard to think about one without the other. Generally though, at this time of year, we are most inclined to pay attention to the large number of new students/faculty/staff. It is a lot of change. But all newcomers soon encounter the massive and stable working organization that is UF. Over time, with the mix of new ideas, the natural give-n-take between new and old, and the cumulative effect of hard work by talented people, everything and everybody tends to get a little better. Sure, there can be a snag now and then, a wrong turn, or an occasional setback. But, for the most part, everything moves along without a hitch; and time after time and year after year, the trend line is always that UF gets better. It is great to be to be a part of a place like this.

Change in the Air

At his fall "State of the University" address last week, President Machen announced a number of the changes occurring outside IT including replacement appointments of new senior administrators in several areas. He also announced searches that will begin soon to fill other administrative and faculty positions. Adding to that list, President Machen also announced that a national search for a new UF CIO will begin immediately. This search (not a new position) follows from and is a capstone of a year in which the 2009 Information Technology Action Plan (ITAP) was developed and adopted. The ITAP integrates core and distributed IT components throughout UF in a single organization. A key part of completing that plan is the appointment of a UF CIO to lead and manage the new IT organization. The UF CIO will have the title of Vice President and CIO and will report through Senior Vice President for Administration Brian Beach. Two senior administrators have agreed to co-chair the CIO search. They are Paul Robell, Vice President of the UF Foundation and Paul D'Anieri, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Committee members and a search firm will be announced soon.

Other important searches are either underway or are soon to begin. These include a search for a UF and Shands Health System CIO. This position will oversee IT in the Health Science Center and Shands. As with the IT lead in each of the four Senior VP areas, reporting is to the Senior Vice President for Health Affairs David Guzick with a dual-report line to the UF CIO. The dual-report to the UF CIO is for purposes of facilitating University-wide policies, standards, and coordinated administration of core and locally provided IT infrastructure, systems, and services. Also to begin soon are searches for an Information Security Officer and a Director for University Systems. Both of the latter searches are identified as new divisions or departments under the ITAP. Both will have University-wide responsibility and will report through the UF CIO.

H1N1

Anything that happens in the University impacts IT in some way, and vice versa. So, as we start this new semester, it is critically important for all of us to be thinking about and preparing for the H1N1 virus. Academic Technology, in cooperation with the Provost's Office, has developed a plan to assure that all courses and all sections taught this term have the capability of delivering content to students electronically. More detailed information will be forthcoming in the next couple of days from the Provost's Office and the Office of Student Affairs. A resource web page can be found at www.at.ufl.edu/flu.

In addition to the above, all units need to think not only about the usual business continuity issues and plans but also about how the various ways this pandemic may unfold will require different approaches. We need to think about that within our units and work groups as well as across units. For example, some possible scenarios may require forming teams that can support or back up operations across budget and organizational borders. We do a lot of this informally already. It is important to recognize that, in a pandemic environment, we are all as likely to be in need of such help as we are to be in a position to offer help. Some of you are way out in front in terms of this sort of thinking and planning. Please keep it up and spread the word.

Other Things Going On

The new UF IT organization will work though a single governance structure, a broader engagement process, and through a management structure focused on coordination and cooperation. The governance structure is still in the implementation process. I had hoped the new governance structure would be in place by now but, it will take a couple of more months. The engagement plan implementation has made great progress with the design and rollout of a new UF IT Web site. Go to www.it.ufl.edu and have a look. Thanks to Fedro Zazueta, Anne Allen, Pricilla Chapman, and Dan Shields for taking the lead and for doing such a great job with this project. We are in a sort of middle ground with the new IT organization and so it is with the new site. Simply put, the site reflects as best we can both the new and the not so new. As with all such sites, we will continue to develop it as the organization evolves. There is also an IT community wiki that you can access from the site. Finally, and generally under the heading of engagement, plans are moving forward for a fall assembly. The primary purpose of the fall UF IT Assembly is a social gathering to kick-off a new year and to recognize and celebrate service by IT employees. Expect an announcement on this soon with the target date being October 29th, 2009 in Emerson Hall from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Recipients of the 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 year pins will be recognized as will the recipient(s) of the 2009 UF IT Outstanding Service Award.

On the management side of things, we have restarted periodic meetings of the UF Campus IT Directors Group. This group met once in the summer and will continue to meet bi-monthly throughout the year. The goal is to regularize a setting for information sharing and opportunities for coordination and collaborations. For the core unit directors and the IT leads from the four Senior Vice Presidents' areas, we have formed the UF IT Managers Council. This group has been meeting regularly on a bi-weekly basis through most of the summer. Going forward, we will move to a once-a-month meeting schedule. The new managers hired to lead the Information Security and Compliance Office and the University Systems Group will also be a part of this group.

In closing, let me encourage your participation in ITSA Day, 2009. Scheduled for October 7th, this will be the 10th annual ITSA (Information Technology Security Awareness) Day conference and workshop (see www.itsa.ufl.edu). All things considered, the fall will be very busy with much more than the usual excitement and anticipation. Let's all hope for a more ordinary ebb and flow of activity in the spring.

Chuck Frazier