As we welcome the new academic year, I’m excited to reflect on the accomplishments we’ve achieved in IT over the past year and share our vision for the future. Our focus on innovation, collaboration, and student empowerment continues to shape the technology landscape at Trinity, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of educational excellence.
Empowering Student Workers
Last year, our IT department hired over 70 student workers who were vital in driving key projects across Cyber Security, Networking, MS SharePoint, Printing Services, MS Data Analytics, Financial Reporting, Access Control, Classroom Technology, and Media Services. Together, these talented students and our dedicated IT staff successfully completed over 20 special projects, gaining more than 2,500 hours of professional work experience.
Through our IT mentoring initiatives, many students secured prestigious placements in elite programs such as Girls Who Code and Girls Who Invest and internships with leading companies and organizations. We remain committed to providing meaningful work opportunities, aiming for our student workers to graduate with at least one year of professional work experience.
Enhancing Our Network
Looking ahead, we have ambitious plans to further enhance our network infrastructure. This includes improving Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning and strengthening our cybersecurity defenses to ensure the safety of our community.
Modernizing our Enterprise
Our work on enterprise applications and integrations has led to notable improvements in the trincoll.edu website and other student-facing systems. We’re excited to share these new upcoming projects. We’ll soon introduce new Cloud Applications and (SaaS) Software as a Service solutions with Microsoft and Oracle to improve scalability, accessibility, and cost efficiency for our enterprise IT resources. Comprehensive training will be provided to ensure a smooth transition and effective use of these new tools.
Transforming Helpdesk and Desktop Support
We’ve introduced Halo, a new Helpdesk software, to improve customer experience. It includes features for asset and knowledge management that we will implement soon. This software aims to streamline support and provide users with self-service options.
In the past two years (2023 and 2024), we’ve upgraded over 60% of classroom computers to the latest Dell models. We have also modernized public printing with PaperCut, a green software offering three printing methods outlined here. Additionally, printers in the Cornelia Center and Writing Center have been updated, and a new printer has been added to LSC.
Media Technology Services Upgrades
In our ongoing effort to improve learning environments, we have upgraded classrooms and shared learning spaces with new projectors, Apple TV’s and digital white boards. These enhancements ensure that our students and faculty can access the best tools to support their academic endeavors. The MTS team worked hard to maintain our classrooms while supporting over 500 events on campus last year alone!
Strengthening Access Control and Campus Safety
We have also concentrated on improving campus safety through enhancements to access controls, camera surveillance, and building upgrades, including measures to boost dorm room security. These efforts reflect our dedication to ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for everyone at Trinity. The Access Control Team completed their annual inspection of all dorm rooms, covering bedrooms, bathrooms, and exterior doors. They examined over 2000 electronic locks to confirm their safety.
Additionally, Access Control collaborated with the Facilities Department on the South Campus renovation to make the new Jackson laundry room compliant with ADA accessibility standards and relocated the ADA post for Trinity Hall, Jackson, and Funston to improve ease of access.
Moreover, the Team worked with other campus partners to upgrade the laundry facilities with new card readers, allowing students to use credit cards and soon to be accepting Bantam Bucks. This gives students more payment options and the ability to monitor the availability of washers and dryers firsthand.
Looking Ahead: IT Operations and Research Support
Our focus on IT operations has led to significant advancements in cloud initiatives, particularly with Microsoft Azure, and the strategic use of Artificial Intelligence. We are staging future rollouts of Microsoft CoPilot and Microsoft Power BI, which will empower our community with innovative data analysis and decision-making tools.
We continue to promote education and self-help among our staff and faculty, encouraging a culture of continuous learning. Furthermore, we are actively exploring research support initiatives by partnering with organizations like ACCESS (Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem), CACR (Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research: Indiana University), and ERN (Ecosystem for Research Networking), in collaboration with Library and Technology Services.
As we embark on this new academic year, I’m excited about the opportunities ahead and our continued impact together. Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to innovation at Trinity College.
Wishing you all a successful and inspiring year ahead!
Sincerely,
Stephanie Cox
Chief Technology Officer
Trinity College