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 hen Robert Lounello, James Alonzo, Isabel Nirenberg, Donald Gallerie, Sara
Dearing, Robert Yoder, Ginger Bailey, Peter Connolly and a host of other
University staff members come to work on Jan. 1, 2000, they will "power up" the
University's computing systems for the first time in the year 2000.
Thanks to careful and extensive preparations over the last couple of years, they expect systems to be "Y2K" ready but they are also prepared to deal with unforeseen problems that may emerge that day and in the first few weeks of the new year. "We believe that the University's mission-critical systems are ready for the date change to Jan. 1, 2000. Only when we turn systems on and start testing them in the new year, however, will we know for sure whether there are problems we need to address. We have in place a team of committed University staff members who will address problems that emerge," said Interim Vice President for Finance and Business Paul Stec. In fact, as many as 75 computing systems support staff, including Lounello, Alonzo, Nirenberg, Gallerie, Dearing, Yoder, Bailey, and Connolly, will be working or on call throughout the holiday break this year to assure a successful "rollover" of systems. Stec chairs the University's Y2K Task Force, which brings together staff from all University areas to review systems and track progress toward Y2K readiness and to prepare contingency plans. At the Nov. 3 meeting of the task force, reports from staff members made clear that most of the work has been done and that remaining tasks, such as the installation of Y2K patches on administrative services personal computers, are under way. Potential power outages that are beyond the University's control could disrupt the "rollover" of computing systems and could have consequences for research. Faculty members whose research could be affected by power outages have been asked to develop contingency plans, including the suspension of experiments beginning Dec. 31. In addition to the issue of possible power outages, one remaining area of concern is the number of non-Y2K-compliant personal computers in use on campus. Stec said a plan is being developed for a systematic replacement of those computers. With more than 20 million records and 2,100 computer programs, the University began preparing its computing systems for the year 2000 over three years ago. The University has upgraded its administrative systems for financial records, personnel and payroll records, and student records. This past summer, the University upgraded the operating system for the central academic servers on campus and upgraded all personal computers in campus user rooms to assure Y2K compliance. All essential telecommunications services will be upgraded by the end of this month; telecommunications billing services will be Y2K ready by the end of the year. While a major focus of efforts has been the University's large management information systems — payroll systems, student account systems, tax records, etc., the University has also reviewed equipment and systems that might be threatened by Y2K problems. Y2K-compliant chips have been installed in elevators on campus. Honeywell made necessary modifications to the building control panels for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning for the podium and uptown residence halls. A new boiler control system has been installed on the downtown campus. All these efforts and many more have prepared the University well for the year 2000, says Stec. To further ease the transition, he urges all faculty and staff to follow the advice in the "Y2K" checklist. — Mary Fiess
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Links to Additional Y2K Information
Academic Computing Y2K Readiness NYS Office for Technology Year 2000 | |
