UAF and OIT Realign Duties to Better Serve Users

The News: OIT and UAF have begun a realignment of IT resources. These changes have been years in the making, and have the support of President Pitney, Chancellor White, CITO Shier, UAF VCAS Queen, and their respective teams. The transition period should be complete by July 1, 2023.

Fortunately, the changes should have minimal initial impact on OIT employees and users across the system. End users will notice few changes at first, and will experience little change in terms of support. All IT organizations systemwide will continue collaborating to enhance IT capacity.

The Details: The reorganization will create a new UAF IT Department headed by VCAS Julie Queen, which will oversee mission-enabling resources for students, staff, and faculty at both UAF and the System Office. They include:

  • IT Helpdesk - Operators will still route your call or email inquiry to the proper spot, regardless of whether you’re calling from any of the three Universities, or the System Office.
  • Desktop Support Service
  • Academic Technology Support
  • Video Conferencing Services

OIT under CITO Shier will shift its focus to enhancing IT efforts for the entire UA System, and will continue to support Cybersecurity and LAN for UAF.

In practice, OIT employees primarily working in the Bunnell Building will join the new UAF IT Division, while OIT employees currently working in the Butrovich Building will remain part of OIT. 

Reporting lines will not change, except for new vacant positions that UAF IT will control to augment the division's capacity. Martha Mason will serve as interim UAF CIO, then stay on as a strategic advisor to the permanent CIO when they are hired this fall.

The Bottom Line: This transition will better align IT resources to core mission and better support end users. As some services and support need time to transition effectively, IT teams will partner and hire to add capacity in key technology areas.