From left to right:
Moderator, Caroline Manssino-Cohen
Panelists:  Mike Grosshandler, Joy Ewing, Ben Paultre, Justin Azoff, Meg Fryling, Eric Warnke

The Future of IT Staff Meeting Photos

In May 2006, an ITS All Staff Meeting featured a panel entitled The Future of IT.  The discussion was designed to initiate a dialogue about what technology might look like at the University at Albany over the next 10-15 years. A group of youthful staff members (loosely defined as 30-something or younger) were identified to organize the discussion; from within this larger team a representative was selected from each ITS group to serve as a panelist.

Two prior events inspired the creation of The Future of IT panel. At an All Staff Meeting in March 2005, ITS organized an historical retrospective where veteran staff regaled the audience with stories of how technology worked "in the old days." This included photos, vintage clothing and memories of the University's data center when it housed a single mainframe computer. The Future of IT was designed, in part, as a foil to the historical retrospective. The second source of inspiration was Thomas L. Friedman's best-selling book The World is Flat. Several copies of the book were purchased and circulated among ITS staff, followed by informal discussions. Many of the issues from Friedman's book--such as outsourcing--were among the themes addressed by the panel.

Moderator Caroline Manssino-Cohen (University Applications Development), and panelists Justin Azoff (Telecommunications), Joy Ewing (Extended Learning), Meg Fryling (University Applications Development), Mike Grosshandler (Client Support Services) Ben Paultre (Systems Management and Operations) and Eric Warnke (Research IT) participated in this lively debate. Bill Pyszczymuka (Client Support Services) served as resident expert on The World is Flat. They examined the challenges of working in IT, explored how those challenges might be addressed in the future, and fielded several questions and comments from staff in the audience.

Special thanks to Mike Grosshandler for recording the discussion, Mark Schmidt for capturing the excitement on film, and staff members who assisted in the organization of this event:

Anu Bagde (University Applications Development)
Jeff Goodwin (University Applications Development)
Dan Holdren (Systems Management and Operations)
Deana Myers (University Applications Development)
Greg Rickes (Office of the CIO)
Ryan Russo (University Applications Development)