CAS Computing to Merge with ITS on October 1, 2021
As of October 1, 2021 the staff in CAS Computing will be integrated into the ITS organization. The combined organization represents a more efficient, effective use of personnel and budgetary resources. CAS will benefit from the depth and breadth of IT expertise present in a larger IT Department with multiple, structured service delivery teams. Providing a single point of contact (the ITS Service Desk) should help to facilitate the assignment of tasks in the most efficient ways, within the whole of ITS. This unit has a well-developed audio/visual technology delivery and support ability that will greatly benefit CAS conference rooms and classrooms. The CAS Dean’s Office is working diligently to make sure that CAS needs will continue to be addressed throughout the transition and beyond, in close collaboration with ITS.
Brian Heaton, Chief Information Officer (CIO), and his team (including Helen Strother) will address the Council of Chairs at their first meeting of the year, on September 1, to provide more details and information. Brian and his team will conduct informational meetings and answer any questions about the transition. CAS faculty and staff are encouraged to attend.
Find more information and frequently asked questions about the transition on the CAS Wiki site. Elizabeth Gaffney is serving as CAS point person to work through the transition and any issues that may arise. General feedback/concerns about the CAS Computing transition should be shared with Elizabeth at the following email address: [email protected].
Dean Altarriba's full letter to CAS faculty and staff
Dear CAS Colleagues,
Last Fall, upon request from the Provost, my Office began discussions with Information Technology Services (ITS) regarding the possibility of CAS Computing integrating into ITS to consolidate computer services for our Faculty and Staff. A comprehensive series of discussions and meetings followed involving ITS, CAS Computing, and the CAS Dean’s Office. Maintaining the service level provided by CAS Computing while integrating the services into the ITS infrastructure was of critical importance, as this possibility was explored.
After detailed analysis of the services provided by CAS Computing and mapping how these services could be maintained under the ITS umbrella, the decision to integrate these units was seen as viable. A similar integration of the School of Business ITS support into and under the ITS umbrella occurred last year and has been widely successful.
A transition date to this new structure is scheduled for October 1, 2021. The staff in CAS Computing will be integrated into the ITS organization as of that date. Helen Strother will move into a key management position in ITS, overseeing desktop and mobile device support for all ITS-supported Faculty and Staff.
We know there will be many questions about how this will work. We have invited Brian Heaton, Chief Information Officer (CIO), and his team (including Helen Strother) to address the Council of Chairs at their first meeting of the year, on September 1, to provide more details and information. We will also have open meetings with CAS Faculty and Staff, beginning the week of September 6, where Brian and his team will answer any questions about the transition. Further communication about how to access services through ITS will be forthcoming, as the transition approaches.
Throughout the transition, Elizabeth Gaffney (CAS Dean’s Office) will be the point person to monitor any concerns or issues that arise and meet with ITS to resolve concerns, accordingly. We ask for your patience throughout this transition, and please consider requesting services with adequate planning in mind, so that we can continue to provide the services you will need, particularly as we begin this new academic year. Rest assured, the CAS Dean’s Office is working diligently to make sure that our needs will continue to be addressed throughout the transition and beyond, in close collaboration with ITS, as we all continue to work vigorously towards that goal.
From a broader University perspective, the combined organization represents a more efficient, effective use of personnel and budgetary resources. CAS will benefit from the depth and breadth of IT expertise present in a larger IT Department with multiple, structured service delivery teams. Providing a single point of contact (the ITS Service Desk) should help to facilitate the assignment of tasks in the most efficient ways, within the whole of ITS. This unit has a well-developed audio/visual technology delivery and support ability that will greatly benefit CAS conference rooms and classrooms.
I would like to thank Helen Strother and the staff in CAS Computing for their work on our behalf these many years. We look forward to continuing to work with many of them, as they join the ITS organization which will now provide our support in this arena.
Jeanette Altarriba, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences