Overview: A Message from Our Interim CIO, A Message from Our Deputy CIO, Founders' Day Recap, TPC Closure, Workday to Microsoft Entra, Sunsetting Knights Mail, LibTech Lending, Day of Giving, New Outlook Feature, Events & Experiences, Employee Engagement, AMA in Review, IT Ducky on the Go, Employee Spotlight, Superstar Awards, Hail & Farewell |
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Hello UCFIT team,
I hope this message finds each of you well.
Congratulations to 41 of our IT@UCF colleagues who were recognized at the recent Founders' Day ceremony for their years of service and contributions. Your dedication is commendable, and we are proud to have such committed members on our team. Thank you to those who attended in person to support our colleagues.
In other news, we have three reviews of various areas of IT@UCF being conducted over the next few months. The University of Florida IT leadership will be on campus meeting April 25/26 with our units to help us and UCF senior leadership understand what it will take to be the IT to support the UCF strategic plan. It will also guide us in our search for a permanent CIO. UCF audit has also begun a new partnership with Eisner-Ampner (EA) to lead IT Audit work for decentralized units to provide a perspective of IT activities beyond central UCF IT. EA was on campus last week to begin work focused on CECS, COM and Athletics. Finally, we have engaged CTO David Nyugen from SMU to assist in providing an in-depth analysis of our technical infrastructure and debt. David will be working closely with Mike Scruggs and team. He will be on-site at the end of May.
We continue to make progress on the implementation of the SOC, migration of PS to the Cloud, and other major initiatives. More to come over the next few weeks.
As a reminder, the planned return to campus is scheduled for May 13 at the Orlando Tech Center (OTC). We're finalizing the details and will share more information soon.
Thank you for your support and dedication as we move forward.
Warm regards,
Sheila
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IT@UCF April Achievements: Celebrating Excellence and Innovation |
This month has been front-loaded with celebrating and recognizing accomplishments. 41 of our colleagues in IT@UCF received recognition for their service at UCF during the Founders’ Day Celebration on April 3, with two employees celebrating their 35th-year milestone. That is an impressive number, and it indicates that IT@UCF is truly a great place to work. The combination of employees who have been at UCF for numerous years and those who are still coming in with fresh perspectives and ideas benefits our operations and provides unique levels of innovation and dedication.
I also want to recognize Raiza Ramos-Deatherage, Isha Guerrero-Londeree and Jessica Scheck on their nomination for the prestigious Employee Excellence Award. These three individuals epitomize the core values of IT@UCF, embodying traits such as reliability, professionalism, responsiveness and user-focused service orientation.
This month we also had another award ceremony – the Central Florida National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing Award Celebration – that took place on April 20 at the Live Oak Event Center. Our very own Women in IT & Allies group has been organizing the annual NWCIT AiC awards since 2017. This ceremony honors Central Florida women, genderqueer and non-binary high school students who have demonstrated outstanding achievements and interests in computing and STEM fields.
Seeing everyone come together in person for these award ceremonies has me looking forward to our return to office in May. Although it will be a change for us all, we are hoping that this hybrid schedule will allow all of us to get to know new people in the IT@UCF community or strengthen our existing relationships with our colleagues. The Creative Hour subcommittee of the Employee Engagement Committee has developed a list of team activities that were presented by Bryce Jackson during the April 3 AMA. I encourage all of you to vote on your top five favorite ideas and volunteer as a facilitator so we can continue to build upon our culture of collectivity and collaboration. You can find the list here.
Thank you all,
Hank |
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Founders' Day: IT@UCF Recognition |
On April 3, many of our IT@UCF colleagues were celebrated for their accomplishments and dedication to the University of Central Florida. Three IT@UCF employees also received recognition for their Employee Excellence Award nominations. Congratulations to Jessica Scheck, Isha Guerrero-Londeree and Raiza Ramos-Deatherage on those nominations, as well as all the IT@UCF employees listed below in recognition of their years of service. |
Technology Product Center (TPC) Storefront Closure |
The Technology Product Center (TPC) storefront, located at 12710 Pegasus Dr in Tech Commons II, will close its physical location on June 21, 2024. This closure will not impact departmental purchases, payroll deduction purchase options or other services and will only impact business-to-consumer walk-in sales. After the close date, staff, students and faculty can continue to receive educational discounts by using the following vendor links: Dell, Lenovo and Apple
The Repair Services located at the Support Desk will continue business as usual. |
Workday to Microsoft Entra |
The Workday team is switching to a sign-in method that will enable UCF faculty and staff to have the same level of security with far fewer logins. This update will take place on Sunday, May 5, 2024, between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Here's what you need to know about the change:
- This Move is Streamlining Your Access to Workday: Your sign-in session will remain valid for 180 days straight if you do not reset your password, sign out or clear your cookies when closing your browser.
- Your Login Process is Not Changing: You will not see a difference in how you sign in to Workday - the change is a behind-the-scenes upgrade that will enable you to stay signed in longer.
- You Should Update Your Bookmarked URL: For continued seamless access to Workday, please ensure that your bookmarked URL points to workday.ucf.edu.
This change will allow you to log into Workday using the same MFA method you use to sign in to your Webcourses and myUCF today. To test your MFA and login options, log into one of these systems ahead of the Workday to Entra change. Contact the IT Support Center if any issues occur. |
Decommissioning the Knights Tenant |
To remain in compliance with evolving technology standards, and to prevent unforeseen costs associated with Microsoft’s new data storage charges for Education customers, UCF will now limit University-issued Microsoft accounts to the following groups: matriculated or currently enrolled students, faculty, support staff and administrators. Retired faculty in good standing and covered by the current BOT-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement will have the opportunity to request a @ucf.edu email address. Steps for requesting the @ucf.edu email will be communicated via HR as part of the retirement process.
Starting in March, UCF will begin a phased shutdown of all faculty and alumni @Knights.UCF.edu email accounts. After June 1, 2024, all faculty and alumni will no longer have access to their Knights accounts. Individuals with an active Knights Mail account will receive email communications from do_not_reply@ucf.edu detailing important information and next steps before their scheduled cut-off date.
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LibTech Lending Partnership |
UCF IT has partnered with UCF Libraries to develop a sustainable model for student computing support. UCF Libraries is now in charge of all main campus tablet and computer lending for students through their LibTech services. The library has 700 laptops and tablets and 3,000 other technology items (cables, chargers, cameras, tripods, etc.). These materials circulate 50,000 times per semester!
This collaboration ultimately streamlines the process of lending technology to students and reduces redundant processes. |
Record-Breaking Day of Giving |
“The incredible success of this year’s UCF Day of Giving speaks to the extraordinary pride in our university and for the exciting future we are building together,” UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright said in comments following the event. “We are thankful for the generosity of our alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, and friends, and for the investments made in the causes closest to their hearts. These gifts will drive our excellence, support student success, advance exploration and discovery, and unleash potential.”
By making 10,356 gifts, inspired donors across the globe rallied together for the community-driven effort — supporting the university and areas that aim to empower Knights and solve the world’s most significant challenges. These contributions were made across all 50 U.S. states, as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom.
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New: In-Person Events in Outlook |
Microsoft has released a new Outlook feature that allows you to label meetings as "in-person" events, just in time for our return-to-office schedules! The scheduling assistant will even detect when invitees are in-office vs. working remotely.
To ensure that your work schedule is up-to-date, complete the following steps:
2. Select Settings⚙️ (at the top right of the screen) > Calendar
3. Choose Work Hours and Location, and then define your work schedule by modifying the days, times and locations |
April 24-30: Financial Wellness Series |
Join UCF HR Benefits for a series of workshops, presentations and webinars designed to provide UCF employees with practical tools and resources to build their financial knowledge and future. |
The Academic Affairs Business Center (AABC) has created a UCF team for the upcoming Track Shack Corporate 5k on May 9 at 6:15 at Lake Eola, and the deadline to register with the cheapest registration fee is coming up on April 26! After April 26, the registration fees will increase by $5 every week. The proceeds for the 5k will be donated to the Track Shack Youth Foundation and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
All participants from UCF are encouraged to wear any UCF-branded shirt and will gather by the Gold Zone at 5:30 p.m. to start the 5k together. |
May 20-31: Leadercast Video Series - Greatest Habits of All Time |
The Division of Digital Learning and Academic Affairs are hosting a two-week-long online video series from May 20-31. This video series will discuss how collective habits influence how we work. Participants of the series can start and stop the videos at any time and view them on demand. There are limited spaces available. |
New Teams Channel: Together in IT |
A new Teams channel, Together in IT, was added to the Campus IT Community (CITC) Team this month. This channel will be a great source for information sharing about IT@UCF employee engagement events, activities and other collaboration opportunities! Be sure to turn on your notifications for the channel if you're interested in participating in upcoming activities.
We encourage everyone to use the chat feature for non-work-related engagement with the CITC community! This can range anywhere from coordinating a ten-minute walk outside the OTC to gathering a group to go to a UCF sporting event. |
Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming session.
May 15, 2024 at 1:15 p.m.
- Guest Speaker: Joe Thalheimer, Director, Emergency Management
- Topic: Hurricane Season Prevention
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The IT Ducky went on a stroll on campus to participate in the Founders' Day celebrations on April 3! Can you name Ducky's whereabouts?
Images submitted by: Ginger Nielsen |
This month, we're shining the spotlight on Lisa Wayte, Telecom Engineering Manager. She joined the IT@UCF community in May 1988. Lisa was recognized during this year's Founders' Day Celebration for her long tenure with UCF. This May, 2024, she will have been working at UCF for 36 years! |
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Get to Know Lisa Wayte:
How long have you been working at IT@UCF? I came to UCF in 1983 as a student and graduated with a BS in Computer Science in Dec. 1986. I started working in CS&T (now UCF IT) in May 1988. I will be 36 years in May 2024.
What is your current role at IT@UCF? Manager, Telecom Engineering
What is your favorite thing about working at IT@UCF? Knowing that when I attend a UCF event on campus, I see the fan side of the event where fans are enjoying themselves. I can also relate to what it takes to support an event on the engineering side. Our efforts in keeping the network switch rooms operational play such a critical role and to see them in action is fascinating. At UCF IT, you can make a difference through teamwork.
What is a fun fact about you that not many people know? My office is filled with UCF sports banners including memorabilia and UCF archives. I have signed artwork of the UCF mascots gathered at a picnic. It has been featured in the Pegasus Magazine. I also have a variety of plants in Phase II and in my office in OTC.
What issues/topics are you passionate about? Landscaping, (I love plants), life sciences, space, medical field, and travel.
Do you have a favorite spot on campus to go to? If so, what is it and why? Anyplace outside where I can see wildlife and flowers. I love nature.
What are your hobbies outside of work? I love landscaping, traveling, UCF Football, UCF Baseball, Theater, and kayaking. I enjoy my time with my better half, Eric who I will be married to for 35 years on May 20th! |
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Congratulations Superstar!
We are happy to recognize Brandon Lynch, OPS Student Tech | OIR, for receiving the March Superstar Award! Thank you for your hard work and collaboration. |
Nominate a colleague, an employee or even your manager for going above and beyond in their role within the IT@UCF community by filling out the form here.
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In the month of March, we welcomed a few new employees to the IT@UCF family as well as said our farewells to others leaving UCF.
Please give a warm welcome to the following who joined our department:
- Lavar Smith: Contingent Worker
- Nicholas Aubrey: Contingent Worker
- Hope Paccione: Contingent Worker
- Laura Bui: Contingent Worker
We bid farewell to the following who left UCF:
- Diego Rodriguez-Pastor: IT Client Support Specialist I
- William Netterville: Network Engineer IV
- Matthew Littlefield: Consultant
- Erick Smanhotto: Contingent Worker |
Office of the CIO 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, Unsubscribe |
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