Tag Archives: Leadership Message

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of summer and finding opportunities to spend time outdoors, connect with those around you, and recharge. Although the pace of campus may feel different during the summer months, this remains an active time for technology professionals across the University of Michigan. Teams throughout our campuses and Michigan Medicine are maintaining essential services, advancing projects, and preparing for the arrival of students in August. Much of this work takes place behind the scenes, but it touches nearly every part of the university experience.

I hope you are all enjoying the early signs of spring across our campuses. As we look ahead to commencement and the close of another academic year, it is a meaningful time to reflect on the energy, dedication, and collaboration that define the Michigan Technology Community. This season always serves as a reminder of the impact our work has on our students, faculty, and staff, and I am grateful to be part of a community that continues to support the university’s mission in such thoughtful and innovative ways.

I hope you are having a productive fall semester. ITS has been enhancing the university’s security posture and aligning U-M with federal digital accessibility requirements. Adopting Okta, the industry-leading platform for managing digital identities and access, and expanding our guidance and tools to create accessible digital content will make tremendous strides towards these goals.

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Michigan fall. The changing colors on campus are a wonderful reminder of how much this season symbolizes transformation, which reflects the incredible work happening across our Michigan Technology Community.

I hope you are all enjoying a restful and energizing summer. This time of year is a wonderful reminder of how much the Michigan Technology Community contributes to the mission of our university. From enabling world-changing research to safeguarding our digital spaces and supporting the academic journey of every student, your work powers the heart of this institution.

I hope you have all had a fantastic May. As I look back on this past academic year, I feel an immense sense of gratitude about what the Michigan Technology Community has achieved for our beloved institution. This has been a year marked by both complex challenges and incredible milestones. Through it all, our IT professionals have stayed grounded in our values and committed to the people we serve. I am truly grateful to be part of this community.

This has been a monumental year for our colleagues. There have been successes, setbacks, challenges, and celebrations. But we have endured and even thrived because we have supported each other and our users no matter what. It makes me even prouder that this year, this group changed its name to re-emphasize our commitment to “community.”

I hope you are all having a wonderful December. I am proud of our community’s hard work and achievements over the past year. We evolved “Michigan IT” to the more inclusive “Michigan Technology Community,” the Winter Innovation Expo highlighted our diverse community’s efforts across the university, and relaunched U-M’s Digital Accessibility website which now offers enhanced support and resources. Have a wonderful holiday season and winter break. See you in 2025.

It’s a busy time at U-M right now. President Ono shared the new Campus Plan 2050 website and the Office of the Vice President for Research announceD a record $2.04 billion in research volume during FY2024. Additionally, registration is open for two of Michigan IT’s fall events: Hacks with Friends and the inaugural Michigan IT Winter Innovation Expo.

As we wrap up September and gear up for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we emphasize the importance of digital security. With a rise in cyber attacks, we’ve introduced Duo Verified Push across all U-M campuses, enhancing login security with a three-digit code. Additionally, we’ve integrated the Maizey AI platform into Canvas, making AI tutor creation easier for faculty and enriching the student learning experience. We appreciate your dedication and welcome suggestions for improving IT security and growth.

In these challenging times, it’s important to maintain respect and empathy for each other. Our unity as a team is crucial, and I am here to support you. Michigan IT exemplifies this spirit of service through tours and enrichment opportunities, such as visits to the U-M Nursing Clinical Learning Center and the Big House, which foster networking and understanding of campus technology.

I hope you have all been able to enjoy our first official month of summer. There is so much going on at the university right now, particularly related to our leadership in technology. President Ono’s announced of the creation of a new “innovation corridor” between Ann Arbor and Detroit. This initiative is a partnership between U-M and the Detroit Regional Chamber. It will significantly foster technological advancement and economic growth in our area over the next decade.

I hope you are having a wonderful start to the spring-summer term of 2024. There are a lot of exciting developments on the horizon, including AI training, the Teaching & Learning Summit, and Pride month.

We are concluding the winter term of 2024. This marks the end of an exciting and challenging academic year for our educational community. There is so much turmoil in the world right now. That is why it is vitally important that Michigan IT is always here to support our students, faculty, staff, and each other. We are all in this together. We are a team. So, I want to thank all of you for, once again, focusing so strongly on the needs of our team.

Can you believe that we are only a few weeks away from the end of the 2023-2024 school year? Time is going by so fast. This has been a monumental academic year for the Michigan IT community. We have faced both unprecedented challenges and incredible technological advances. Throughout it all, I have been so impressed by how Michigan IT always puts our users first. We know our mission, and we live it every day.

Greetings everyone, We have certainly had an exciting start to 2024. On New Year’s Day, I was fortunate enough to be in Pasadena, cheering our Wolverines on to victory at the Rose Bowl. I considered it one of the best games I had ever watched in my lifetime. At least until I found myself in Houston watching our… Read More »

Thank you, Michigan IT, for the essential work you do everyday in support of this great institution. I wish you the best as we wrap up the Fall semester and prepare for the Winter semester.

There is much to celebrate as we head toward the end of the calendar year, including the ACM Gordon Bell Prize, MHacks, our visit from Aga Khan University, a Google Storage Project milestone, and the Michigan IT Showcase & Social.

I am happy to tell you about all of our new developments in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), including a new instructor guide, new articles, and new instructional videos. Plus, in honor of Cybersecurity Month, we have updates on resources you can use to protect yourself online. As always, I look forward to learning from you about what is going on with our Michigan IT community.

New generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) resources are available for campus, along with a new website to support teaching, Academic Technology@Michigan.