This week: Tech Park site, Giraffe upgrade, Depot/Davis Center proposal
Staff Meetings
I continued interviewing individual staff members last week and met with another 10 staff. I have a few remaining staff to meet with, but I’m beginning to schedule meetings with clients and client offices at this point. Again, a number of good suggestions for improving service to clients and improving our working environment.
Tech Park Site
The Tech Park computer room contracting letter was signed early in the week, after a flurry of activity to make sure we had a rough floor plan we could use. Later in the week, a number of us met with A&E — Myron Wheeler, in particular — to go over the “final” details. A&E is now working on detailed design plans. The site will hold a total of 42 racks (a few more contingent on removing some steps), and we’re planning to install 24 racks initially: 6 high-density and 18 low-density. We still have some details to work through (redundant high-speed network connections, etc.). We expect a fully-functioning room by about Oct-Nov, though it’s likely that we’ll be able to begin assembling equipment before that.
CATalyst
The Provost’s Senior Leadership team got an introduction to the UVM Peoplesoft screens for HF and seemed satisfied with what they’re seeing. The performance testing and tuning is underway; fault testing was delayed but will be rescheduled for the immediate future.
Davis Center/Depot Space
Several of us (Andy, Deane, Patti Eldred, me) have met to develop plans for moving the customer-facing Depot services into the new Davis Center in Sept, 2007. The process involves submitting a proposal — effectively, a business plan — that tells what we’d do for students, in particular. The space looks especially attractive because of the proximity to student residence halls and the high volume of student traffic. We will be challenged by the space limitations and logistics, but we’ll continue to work on this since it’s such a great opportunity to improve students’ access to our services.
Giraffe Upgrade
I had nothing to do with the giraffe upgrade, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the exemplary job done by so many of you on this project. These major upgrades are important for maintaining the quality of our service, but they’re high-stress and inconvenient for the staff doing them. I appreciate your skill and diligence in doing the upgrades so quickly and with so few problems!