Greetings everyone,
I hope you are having a productive fall semester and a wonderful day.
I would like to share a reminder about the upcoming MTech Connect 2025 event on Tuesday, December 9. This gathering is an excellent opportunity for everyone in our Michigan Technology Community to find support, collaborate, and focus on technology and career advancement. I strongly encourage you to register to attend.
A particular highlight of the event will be the keynote address by Dr. Charles R. Severance on “Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) – Past, Present, and Future.” Dr. Severance is a clinical professor in the School of Information, and his presentation will explore the evolution of online learning and its impact on campus education, examining how the knowledge gained from scaling MOOC development can be used to improve on-campus teaching.
A significant priority for ITS has been enhancing the university’s security posture. Adopting Okta, the industry-leading platform for managing digital identities and access, will make tremendous strides towards that goal. This transition will enhance the sign-in experience for U-M community members and introduce passwordless sign-in options, such as biometric authentication (Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello), to mitigate phishing attacks. As of November 2025, more than 500 staff members across ITS and HITS have completed their Okta enrollment as part of a pilot rollout, sharing positive feedback about the process. In the new year, Okta will replace U-M Weblogin and Duo Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for most U-M services on February 25, 2026. Please watch for pre-enrollment communications that will begin at the start of the winter semester.
Last month, I shared the new “Get Started with Digital Accessibility” page as a place to find practical guidance and tools to create accessible digital content. I encourage you to return to the Digital Accessibility website, as the resources, training and support offered there are continually expanding. Together, we share the responsibility to make sure we create inclusive, accessible content that everyone in our community can use as well as help U-M meet federal digital accessibility requirements. Sharing a link to these resources with a colleague is an excellent way we can educate and empower one another.
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday and winter break, I want to express my sincere gratitude for everyone and the creative, innovative spirit you bring to your important work. I wish you all a restful holiday and hope you find time to take a necessary break and recharge. Thank you for your dedication to one another and our great university.
With gratitude,
Ravi
Ravi Pendse PhD
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Michigan
rpendse@umich.edu
