Dear colleagues,
Now that it is nearing the end of December (and the transition between semesters), I want to take a moment to thank you for all that you have done in support of our campus community. I think, now more than ever, people appreciate the role that IT plays in their everyday lives.
To celebrate the upcoming winter break, the ITS Marketing & Communications team put together a fun video to wish our students well. It shows what U-M GPT will be doing over the holiday vacation. I hope you enjoy it.
Recently, President Ono gave his annual “State of the University” address (you can watch a video of the address if you would like). In his speech, the president said that he wants us to be not only the University of Michigan, but the university for Michigan. This will be achieved through key partnerships across the state in healthcare, government, and the City of Detroit. Enrollment this past fall in Ann Arbor was the largest and most diverse in our history, making U-M the most sought-after public research institution in the state (UM-Dearborn had its largest-ever freshman class, too).
President Ono also spoke about our “culture journey,” which is an effort to create a set of unifying shared values for the university. Those values are integrity, respect, inclusion, equity, diversity, and innovation. This will set a lasting high standard for our campus behaviors, systems, and practices that support our cultural and scientific aspirations. It speaks to how our work as One Michigan IT is essential to the goals of this great institution. You can also review the Campus Plan 2050 and Vision 2034, which President Ono mentioned in his speech as well.
It was great to see so many of you at the Michigan IT Showcase & Social on November 30. I hope you found it enjoyable to connect with other IT and technology professionals. I was pleased to have the chance to speak with the group and stress the importance of our shared responsibility when it comes to our digital security. The larger Michigan IT community will be essential to our ongoing work to standardize processes and secure our campus. Many thanks to everyone who organized the event. I appreciate your passion and energy.
As the new year approaches, please reach out and let me know what you think of our past year. From my perspective, 2023 was equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. I am looking forward to reflecting on what this year taught us and moving ahead together. You can always contact me at rpendse@umich.edu with your thoughts, questions, or comments.
I hope you all have a very happy holiday season and restful winter break.
With gratitude,
Ravi
Ravi Pendse PhD
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Michigan
rpendse@umich.edu
