IS In the Classroom: LeVonne Johnson and John Craft Speak to a Class of Robins School Students
Nancy Bagranoff, former dean of the Robins School and now a member of the school's Accounting Department, arranged for her students to tour the Millhiser Data Center and hear a presentation about cybersecurity in higher education. Supervisor of Operations LeVonne Johnson hosted the tour of Millhiser, sharing how the systems are set up, maintained, and protected. He then joined the class as they walked back to the Robins School, where Director of Information Security John Craft was there for the cybersecurity presentation and discussion.
Craft spoke about national trends in cybersecurity, but highlighted specific cases where colleges and universities were impacted. Johnson joined in at one point to add the story of Lincoln College, an HBCU that was forced to permanently close in 2022 after a double-whammy of the corona virus and a December 2021 ransomware attack.
After the presentations, students engaged in a series of questions and discussions where Craft was able to share information on successful phishing attacks at Richmond and yet how the technology infrastructure stands up to millions of attacks every day.
This was the second year that Johnson and Craft spoke to Dr. Bagranoff's class, and a great opportunity for IS in the classroom.
Mac - I want to send a note of special recognition for Bobby Hayes who has been so helpful to me in the past week, regarding the operations of secondary computers in my research lab. Not only is he knowledgeable and a good communicator, but he is one of the most friendly and supportive people on campus. I truly appreciate his commitment to the institution in how he supports individual faculty such as me. While the work may continue this week, I just wanted to share how helpful Bobby has been to my continued research effort.
Dr. Linda Boland
Google Apps for Teaching & Instruction Pilot
In response to faculty interest, Information Services provided setup and funding for a pilot of Google applications that can be used for teaching & instruction, including:
- Drive
- Docs
- Sheets
- Slides
- Forms
- Assignments
- Chat
- Chrome Sync
- Meet
- Jamboard
- Groups
- Tasks
- Drawings
- Maps
- Sites
Information Services worked with the Faculty Technology Committee to set up the pilot, which is slated to run from January to October 2024. 28 faculty are participating.
Law School Spring Symposium
On Friday, February 17th in the Jepson Alumni Center Robins Pavilion, the Law School hosted their "Richmond Law Review Symposium: Overlooked America-Addressing Legal Issues Facing Rural United States." Topics included perceptions of rural America in politics, water resources in indigenous communities, the coal industry's degradation of Appalachian communities, electoral system reform to enhance rural representation, Virginia-specific policy recommendations, and a panel of esteemed authors and litigators discussing pharmaceutical companies' roles in perpetuating the opioid epidemic in the region. TMSS techs Rob Stucky, John Reeves, Matt Dueling, Bryan Gallagher, and Phil Sherman were onsite all day to provide audio/video support for the Symposium.
"I continue to be amazed at the level of support, resources, and responsively we are privileged to have here at Richmond."
Dr. Jane Berry, Psychology
CCE Presentations of Learning
On Tuesday, March 28th, and Tuesday, April 4, the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) held their yearly Presentations of Learning. Each Bonner Scholar Senior discussed the impact of community engagement on their learning, growth, and development at the University. TMSS Multimedia Tech Bryan Gallagher was onsite to provide start up audio/video support and videotape the event.
TLC and Symposium Posters
Between February 14th and April 14th, the Technology Learning Center (TLC) printed a total of 237 posters. The TLC provides support for events such as the Arts & Sciences Symposium, the Jepson Leadership Symposium, and various classes that present research. In addition, some of the TLC staff presented their own research at the Arts & Sciences Symposium.
SMART Class iPads
SMART (Science, Math, and Research Training) is a year-long academic course, which uses interdisciplinary approaches to tackle big problems such as infectious disease and antibiotic resistance. The course is taught by faculty from Biology, Chemistry, Math, and Computer Science, and integrates approaches from these disciplines. Academic Computing Services distributes iPads to students selected for this program at the beginning of the fall semester. The students use them for the full academic year, turning them back in to ACS after spring exams.
The SMART program helps students discover ways that a degree in science of math will set them on a path to future discoveries and exciting careers. Lighter than the average laptop, the iPads support student learning and note-taking when paired with a stylus.
TMSS Multimedia Classroom Maintenance
The team of TMSS technicians, Matt Duesing, Oz Herbert, John Reeves, Mathew Jean-Baptiste, and Bryan Gallagher are responsible for supporting and maintaining classroom technology throughout the academic year. The goal is to provide a user friendly, consistent, and reliable experience for our faculty during the academic year. Our preventative maintenance program greatly improves the reliability of our classroom technology systems.
Each summer the TMSS technicians are responsible for completing the preventative maintenance program in 175 classrooms. Each classroom system consists of several different technology disciplines requiring expertise in network connectivity and configuration, digital video transmission, audio processing, remote management, control system maintenance, and more.
We test to ensure that every projector is shooting straight and bright, every Solstice Pod is ready to connect, and every touch panel is easy to use. We test and evaluate each system and typically replace a few dozen pieces of equipment every summer.
Summer Projects - Classroom Renovation Updates
As Back to School approaches each year, there is much to be done before Information Services can consider things "complete." The last week before faculty and students return sees a lot of progress, with construction folks, electricians, painters, furniture installers, and our IS team members all working overtime to get the rooms ready for training and of course, the first day of classes. This year the list of classroom included:
- Law School - 2 classrooms and 2 seminar rooms
- Robins School - 1 classroom and we have also refreshed computer systems in three labs
- Refectory - 2 classrooms
- Fountain Hall - 1 classroom
- Gottwald Science Center - 5 classrooms
- Weinstein Hall - 1 classroom and 1 new podcast studio
The Gottwald and Law School projects also included our first deployment of "tracking cameras" for lecture capture. The cameras are configured to follow the faculty member around the room; this will be especially helpful to faculty that use multiple whiteboards in a classroom.
ACS Summer Image Deployment
Every summer, ACS undertakes the task of creating new computer images for the academic computing areas across campus. This process is not only time-consuming but also requires extensive communication and coordination with key faculty members.
In light of these challenges, User Services Project Coordinator Fess Khan and Macintosh Support Coordinator Nick Lydick assisted ACS with summer image creation and deployments Both Khan and Lydick contributed their expertise and dedicated their time, which played a crucial role in enabling ACS to successfully complete the 2023 summer deployments on schedule.
In addition, Academic Computing Specialist Justin Prosser displayed exceptional dedication and commitment. His hard work and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty ensured the ACS summer deployments remained on track. In addition Academic Computing Specialist Dora Douglas, Research Analyst Dr. Fred Hagemeister, and Vickie Brady (who temporarily came out of retirement to help) all contributed to this year's effort.
A few ACS deployment metrics:
- Total number of computers imaged: 1,003
- Total number of new computers deployed: 385
- Total number of Macs: 271
- Total number of Windows systems: 726
- Total number of Linux systems: 6
Faculty & Staff Research Symposium
On Friday, September 22, the School of Arts & Sciences hosted their new 2023 Faculty and Staff Research Symposium in multiple rooms in Boatwright Library. Faculty and staff presented their current research, work, and creative projects through panel discussions, roundtables, format sessions, and poster presentations to their colleagues to enhance community conversations regarding new ideas for programs and scholarships. Dr. Fred Hagemeister and Kevin Creamer, both from IS, were among the presenters. Vice President for Information Services and CIO Keith W. McIntosh served as a Convener for one of the sessions. TMSS multimedia techs Bryan Gallagher, Matt Duesing, John Reeves, and Mathew Jean-Baptiste were onsite to provide audio-video support during each session throughout the day.