Greetings, everyone.
Each and every member of the Michigan IT community has the ability to be a leader and a teacher of their area. Everyone has valuable experiences and viewpoints to share, and it is an important role of leaders to seek these lessons out and listen. I am excited to share two upcoming opportunities for learning from our peers in industry and from our colleagues here at U-M.
I invite you to register for the Distinguished Lecture Series: Leadership in Technology with David Goeckeler, chief executive officer of Western Digital, on April 19 at 1 p.m. I am honored to co-host this event with Michael Wellman, professor and division chair of Computer Science & Engineering at U-M. The lecture series invites the entire university community to hear from industry leaders and find inspiration in their journeys. The virtual event is free, but you will need to register to get a link to join. Please encourage your colleagues to participate!
Additionally, I encourage everyone to register to participate in Hacks with Friends, which will take place on May 7, 14, and 21. The event is an incredible opportunity to take a step beyond your day-to-day duties to unite in creative and innovative ways. In prior years, I was impressed with the sense of purpose and connection that energized each team while they hacked solutions to real problems. With so many of us working remotely for the past year, I hope you find this intentional connection and friendly competition refreshing and rewarding.
I am counting on each and every member of the Michigan IT community to support our students, faculty, and staff in migrating from U-M Box to U-M Dropbox over the coming months. Data storage and collaboration is one of many aspects of IT that enhances and supports the University of Michigan’s core mission of creating, sharing, and archiving knowledge. Please encourage others to create a U-M Dropbox account to prepare for the migration. The Box Retirement Project site has more details and answers to frequently asked questions. In the meantime, take a look to see how the institution as a whole is doing in creating U-M Dropbox accounts by visiting dash.dropbox.umich.edu.
Please continue to check in on your colleagues as your time allows. A simple hello could make someone’s day. I love to hear from you so take time and write back. I am grateful for all that you do. I have no doubt that working together as a community, U-M will be seen as the leader in the appropriate use of technology among our peers and in the world.
Regards,
Ravi
Ravi Pendse PhD
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Michigan
rpendse@umich.edu
