Board to hire technology supervisor

Wednesday, October 21, 1998

Board to hire technology supervisor

ADMINISTRATION: Information coordinator will integrate computing
on campus

By Lawrence Ferchaw

Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA’s administration will soon be adding a new member to take
charge of the university’s growing use of technology.

Currently, computing and applications of technology are handled
by three separate offices and a number of departmental offices;
there is no one whose sole job is to supervise these groups.
Administrators want to change that as they prepare for information
technology to play a bigger role at the university.

"We have a lot of good things going on, but we don’t have one
reporting location," said Executive Vice Chancellor Rory Hume.

Now, the offices that deal with computers and other technology
work somewhat independently of one another, without an overarching
vision or plan in place.

The Academic Information Technology Board has recommended the
creation of such a position to coordinate technology offices on
campus.

The board, which is composed of faculty, students and
administrators, serves as an advisory board to the executive vice
chancellor on technology issues.

Archie Kleingartner, the chairman of the board, called the
current system "fragmented."

"Information technology is highly decentralized in departments,
in schools, in different units," said Kleingartner, a professor in
management and policy studies.

Part of this may be because of the changing uses and users of
the technology over the years, according to Marsha Smith, associate
director of the Office of Academic Computing.

Three centralized offices work directly in information
technology. Academic Computing works with students and faculty to
help them with research and other computing needs. The
Communications Technology Service maintains the infrastructure of
the computer network. Administrative Information Systems manages
the business computing of the university.

The Office of Instructional Development offers many services,
one of which is working on using technology in instruction. In
addition, schools and departments within the university have their
own offices to supply their staff, faculty and students’ computing
needs.

These offices must provide a growing number of services and
tools for people.

"Information technology is becoming increasingly important in
the daily lives of faculty, students and researchers," Smith said.
She added that there will likely be further increases in the next
five to 10 years.

Smith also said the need for common information has grown
between the academic and administrative sides of campus, with
different groups using the same information for different
purposes.

"Technological as well as programmatic directions necessitate
our looking beyond our individual silos," said Allen Solomon,
associate vice chancellor of administrative services.

For example, information from enrollment data is useful to
administrators and academic departments, but for different
purposes.

A chief information officer (CIO) could help coordinate the
distributed system currently in place, Smith said.

"A CIO could look at common sets of tools and data and have a
strategy for integrating these so people can use them in different
ways," Smith added.

With the current system allowing for more local control of
computing, some overlap in what offices do has resulted, according
to Kleingartner.

But, the need for a CIO is not related to current problems with
the functioning of information technology, administrators said.
Rather, the position is necessary to prepare for the future.

"We can do better in the future with good leadership," Hume
said.

Issues in information technology on the horizon include access
to computers for all undergraduates, distance education through the
internet, powerful and expensive research computers, as well as the
implementation of new digital technology.

To deal with these issues, one person in charge of information
technology is necessary, according to administrators.

"(A CIO would) give us philosophical guidance on future
information technology needs for teaching and research," Hume
said.

Hume is still looking for input to define the position and
establish qualities that would be desirable for an appointee.

Those administrators currently working in information technology
said they have some idea of the kind of person for the
position.

"We don’t want a czar, we do want a coordinator," Kleingartner
said. He added that the person will most likely be a mix of "a
Å’techie’, a visionary and a manager."

"This person has to come in with networking, management and
technical skills to work in this distributed environment," Smith
said.

The position, most likely an associate vice chancellor, should
be defined by the end of this calendar year, and the search for
someone to fill the position should take the next six months,
according to Hume who said he is hopeful someone could be in place
by July 1, 1999.

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