Feature Stories

475 IT professionals came together to share ideas and foster collaboration on Aug. 6 for a daylong in-person experience of meeting up with peers and learning more about advances in technology. The event is designed for university IT professionals who serve, support, or use campus IT services.

Information technology support in the College of Engineering focuses on a myriad of unique research and academic technologies. Every day brings a new challenge to Leo Enfield, Information Technology Manager, Principal, and his information technologies team known as ENGR-IT.

The Number 5 Electronic Switching System (#5ESS) was the workhorse of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in the United States. It was developed in 1982 by Western Electric which was part of the AT&T and original Bell System prior to its breakup. The University of Arizona was quick to jump onboard as one of the first private switch owners to take advantage of emerging technologies in 1989.

Inside the University of Arizona Libraries CATalyst Studios, visitors are captivated by the contemporary design housing cutting edge technologies, including a Virtual Reality (VR) Studio, Sound Studio and Green Screen Studio, Data Studio and the Maker Studio. In each studio, there is lots of technology and boundless opportunities for creative learning.

Last spring, Travis Zwickl and Spencer Brummer were among the numerous information technology staff who contributed to the ASITS (Accelerating Secure IT Services) toolkit. When they took inventory of their Arizona International IT assets, Travis realized that migrating to central services, “was going to be a huge project, but that it would help with risk and get our infrastructure off of our aging servers.”

In recent years, universities are seeing unique challenges with students. According to a study by the National Alliance on Mental Health, 73% of students encounter a mental health crisis during their college years. College is a formative time of students’ lives, shaping their futures and allowing them to gather valuable experiences.

The flexibility of Arizona Online allowed Cameron Green to pursue his degree on his own schedule. “Life as a single dad, it’s not that you won’t have a lot of time, it’s just unpredictable,” he says. “I could always find enough time for school, but it wasn’t always at the same time. I worked during the evenings, in the morning and on the weekends.”

Thursday is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day dedicated to raising awareness and getting people talking, thinking, and learning about digital access that provides equal information and opportunity to disabled people and diverse learners. GAAD is an important day and is a great opportunity to learn about how The University of Arizona creates a digitally inclusive atmosphere for all.

8,000 students will be celebrating commencement next week. Among them are one father and daughter duo we decided to spotlight during this exciting time of year.

Arizona Public Media (AZPM) is home to the University of Arizona’s and Southern Arizona’s Public Broadcast System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate. As an exceptional university entity, AZPM operates three television programs on two TV stations, four radio programs (NPR 89.1, Classical 90.5, Jazz 89.1 HD2 and BBC News) and a number of digital streaming services.