Newsletter
Volume 1 - Issue 1
Welcome to the first edition of the I.T. Newsletter! This newsletter will highlight some of the activities of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Information Technology in Lubbock and their continuing effort to improve the services offered to its students, faculty, and staff.
New Staff Members
- Chip Shaw joins Information Technology as the Assistant Vice President of Information Services. His vision and leadership will be invaluable in the continual development of the TTUHSC web infrastructure and environment.
- Alvin Mills leads the recently formed institutional Security Team as Security Manager. Along with 2 new Security Analysts, the team will endeavor to provide enhanced security to the data network.
Departmental Updates from Technology Services:
- Systems Support in Lubbock currently maintains 55 servers. This will increase to 75 servers once plans for the new web server foundation, facilities, and services get underway. This include migrating from separate and disparate mail systems into a single Microsoft Exchange mail server environment, enabling increased virus protection and usage of global address lists. Efforts are also underway to fully enable the use of firstname.lastname@ttuhsc.edu as the institutional email format.
- Operations staff is currently busy "compressing" the server units as well as replacing older and obsolete servers, moving them from the many server tables to a large server rack. This "wafer" thin configuration will greatly increase the physical space in Operations.
- The Networking Department has been busy working on several significant projects for the institution:
- Mildred and Shirley Garrison Geriatric Center - Networking staff coordinated the placement and installation of fiber optic networking cables that enabled the Center to be network-ready by its grand opening on April 1st.
- F. Marie Hall Synergistic Student Center - The entire north section of the 2C pod is currently being renovated into a student recreational center with 81 network drops to provide Internet access and shared printer capabilities.
- Other network projects coming up:
- 2B Infill Renovations
- Academic Classroom Building
- Student Carrels Renovation in 3A and 4A
- School of Nursing Wellness Center Clinic
- Copy and Mail Renovations
- PC Support now has 4 fully certified A+ and Dell technicians, and through this certification, can access higher levels of support, as well as, direct overnight parts replacement. Key projects in this area include:
- IP Tele-Doc - This project involves the set-up and installation of the Center for Telemedicine's Tele-Doc System, which allows patients in remote areas to be examined via a secure network by a consulting physician in another location. The system consists of a personal computer, digital cameras and other medical exam equipment.
- Wireless Training Lab - In January, Information Technology piloted the Dell Wireless Cart with 25 wireless-enabled Dell Latitude laptops that will make any available classroom into a computer lab. For more information or reservation, please contact James Johnston in Classroom Support at 743-2288 or email james.johnston@ttuhsc.edu.
Departmental Updates from Information Services:
The Web Development and Programming groups are currently analyzing and mapping the entire TTUHSC web site, which exceeds 20,000 pages, in preparation for the implementation of an Internet portal system featuring an interactive and customizable entry point serving the needs of current and prospective students, patients, faculty, staff, alumni, and the general public.
Other I.T. Services @ TTUHSC:
- Microsoft Campus Agreement - Through an exclusive licensing agreement, TTUHSC faculty, staff, and students can now obtain Microsoft software by downloading it at http://www.ttuhsc.edu/mca or by purchasing it from High Tech for $5 per CD (to cover material cost.)
- Dell Premier - TTUHSC has entered into a special contract with Dell Corp. to make quality Dell products, upgrades, software, and peripherals available at competitively discounted prices. The entire Dell catalog and specially configured bundles are available at http://www.ttuhsc.edu/it/dell/.
- SmartForce Campus - Free online training is now available for faculty, staff, and students on a variety of topics. Use your eRaider account to log in and begin your free I.T. training at http://www.cbt.ttu.edu.
- eRaider - Efforts are underway to implement a single, Institution-wide login process that will allow faculty, staff, and students access to all of the Texas Tech System. To set up your eRaider account, go to http://www.eraider.ttu.edu.
- Remote Access - For $90 a year or $45 a semester, faculty, staff, and students can now have unlimited Internet service from home. To set up an account, please go to Computer Services in BB-183.
A Reminder…
- Please inform the Networking staff well in advance of any move or reconstruction in your area. This will ensure that your network ports will be active and operational before you move into your new area.
- To ensure efficient TTUHSC operations, faculty, staff, and students are reminded to make sure their computers' clocks are set to Central Time. To do this on a PC, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Date/Time. On a Mac, click on the Apple icon and go to Control Panel > Date and Time.
Information Technology is actively seeking ways to increase its responsiveness to the TTUHSC community. As we strive to improve our services, we encourage constructive input from those whom we support. Please feel free to send your comments or suggestions to Assistant Vice President of Technology Services, Joe Green, at joe.green@ttuhsc.edu or to Assistant Vice President of Information Services, Chip Shaw at chip.shaw@ttuhsc.edu.
Comments about the newsletter should be addressed to the I.T. Quarterly Editor, Ron Merritt at ron.merritt@ttuhsc.edu.