Category Archives: SIGUCCS People

SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Eric Handler

This article is part of a series introducing the SIGUCS 2019 Conference Conference Committee. Each Committee member submitted answers to questions created by the SIGUCCS Marketing Committee.

What is your volunteer position for 2019 and how would you explain it to someone new to SIGUCCS?
This year I’m serving as the Poster Session coordinator. The poster coordinator helps read the papers associated with poster presentation and also makes sure everyone has the supplies they need and the space they need in order to make our poster session awesome. Except for the snacks, our awesome conference planners help with that! Intellectual content is the focus of my position!

How many SIGUCCS conferences have you attended?
4

How did you get involved as a volunteer in SIGUCCS?
At my first SIGUCCS, I spent a lot of time in the hospitality suite and got to talking a lot about my love of board games. As I made suggestions throughout the conference to various folks around the room word of my interest spread and some time later I was approached to ask if I would volunteer to coordinate the suite the next year. Or at least, that’s how I remember it.

What’s an accomplishment that you are especially proud of
If you’d like to hear about a personal accomplishment I’m proud of, please come to my lightning talk in New Orleans this year. Saying more would be a spoiler. Professionally, I’m proud to be a member of a team of academic technologists that are beloved by the faculty that we support. As challenging as it can be to schedule work around visits from faculty to my office, the fact that they seek me and my teammates out around the campus when they need assistance is great. It takes a lot of work to maintain that kind of trust across the faculty.

SIGUCCS 2019 New Orleans … what is your favorite french food?
Garlic Confit, because spreadable garlic is great, but if I need to pick a whole meal, Moules Marinières

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SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Cate Lyon

This article is part of a series introducing the SIGUCS 2019 Conference Conference Committee. Each Committee member submitted answers to questions created by the SIGUCCS Marketing Committee.

Cate Lyon

What is your volunteer position for 2019 and how would you explain it to someone new to SIGUCCS?
Newcomer/First Timers Coordinator – If you are new to SIGUCCS, I will be there to welcome you, answer any questions you might have and help you navigate the conference.

How many SIGUCCS conferences have you attended?
Memphis was my first – so … 7?

How did you get involved as a volunteer in SIGUCCS?
I introduced a couple CIO’s in a presentation – they didn’t give me any information so I made up their backstories (I believe one became a circus performer dropout and another who wanted to be the first female placekicker in the NFL?) – Melissa was in the session and it was all over from there.

chicken

Something that you could always stop and talk to me about …
Pugs and Chickens

SIGUCCS 2019 New Orleans … what is your favorite french food?
Beignets

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SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Cristina Koorie

This article is part of a series introducing the SIGUCS 2019 Conference Conference Committee. Each Committee member submitted answers to questions created by the SIGUCCS Marketing Committee.

What is your volunteer position for 2019 and how would you explain it to someone new to SIGUCCS?
I am the Social Media Coordinator. I am responsible for managing the conference’s presence on social media. Currently, that is primarily Facebook and Twitter.

How many SIGUCCS conferences have you attended?
3

How did you get involved as a volunteer in SIGUCCS?
Mentioned to a few SIGUCCS members I was interested in volunteering and someone reached out about an open position on the committee.

Something that you could always stop and talk to me about …
Food!

SIGUCCS 2019 New Orleans … what is your favorite french food?
Croque Madame

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SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Beth Lynn Nolen

This article is part of a series introducing the SIGUCS 2019 Conference Conference Committee. Each Committee member submitted answers to questions created by the SIGUCCS Marketing Committee.

Beth Lynn Nolen

What is your volunteer position for 2019 and how would you explain it to someone new to SIGUCCS?
My position for 2019 is Publications Chair – in other words, if you’re looking at something in print at the conference, I likely designed it.

How many SIGUCCS conferences have you attended?
2

How did you get involved as a volunteer in SIGUCCS?
I was asked to join the SIGUCCS marketing committee in late 2017, which I’ve enjoyed being part of – I get to help come up with all sorts of fun ideas for raising awareness of SIGUCCS and getting people interested in coming to the conference!

Something that you could always stop and talk to me about …
Crafting. I knit, crochet, quilt, and cross stitch – and you might have even seen me knitting while watching presentations at one of the recent conferences!

SIGUCCS 2019 New Orleans … what is your favorite french food?
I absolutely love crepes. There’s a French restaurant near me that makes crepes filled with Nutella, and they’re so tasty!

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Meet Chris Olance

Hi, my name is Chris Olance. Back in 2011, I was making the transition from a technical position – manager of the student computer labs – to a management position as Manager of Support Services. I was struggling with the transition and I needed help. At that time, I was going to the LabMan lab manager’s conferences and I asked people at that conference about the transition to management.

Chris Olance

Someone at LabMan suggested that I check out SIGUCCS. When I contacted them, they mentioned that they had a grant for first time attendees. Adams State University is a small state university, and funding is always tight. Getting the grant allowed me to get to my first SIGUCCS conference.

The first thing I noticed was the people we were really friendly and extremely helpful. Because they are people just like me – IT people at colleges and universities – there is an immediate shared bond. It did not matter if they are from a large school or small, people wanted to help others. Speaking of helping others, they suggested that I sign up for the mentoring program. I took their advice and was paired up with a mentor. My mentor helped me in the decisions I had to make in my new management position. I got so much out of the process that later I signed up to be a mentor and enjoyed that as well. Currently, I am on the advisory board for the mentoring program. I highly recommend people consider joining SICUCCS and consider being either a mentee or mentor!

Without the SIGUCCS attendance grant program, I would not have been able to attend this conference and learn more about this community – a community that helped me transition in my job and become a better manager. I continue to attend SIGUCCS and support the mentoring program because of this. And my success has helped me bring others from my university to the conference as well!

Chris Olance, M.A.
Adams State University
Computing Services, Manager of Support Services
Professor IT345

Meet Tierney Jackson and Jennifer Ott

TOPdesk was looking for a great conference to reach the education sector and decided to showcase their product at the 2018 SIGUCCS annual conference. They wanted to do a presentation, but knew that attendees want to hear from their peers, not from the vendor. So they asked Tierney Jackson and Jennifer Ott from Rhodes College, who were actively involved in their schools implementation of TOPdesk, to present instead. Their story was one that TOPdesk felt was more relatable to the SIGUCCS conference attendees than a sales pitch would have been. This presentation by one of their partner schools was one that could share practical use cases and benefits and hopefully help the audience find a solution to a problem that they were facing in their own workplace.

Continue reading Meet Tierney Jackson and Jennifer Ott

Meet Patricia Carpenter – SIGUCCS Grant Winner

A year or so ago, Patricia was attending another conference and feeling like the content was just not right for her. Someone at that conference suggested that she look at the SIGUCCS conference. While reviewing the web site, she found the content to be the types of sessions that she would be interested in and she also found out about the grant program and decided to apply the following year. As luck would have it she was selected as one of the 2018 grant award winners.

Continue reading Meet Patricia Carpenter – SIGUCCS Grant Winner

SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Melissa Bauer

This article is part of a series introducing the SIGUCS 2019 Conference Core Committee. Each Committee member submitted answers to questions created by the SIGUCCS Marketing Committee.

Melissa Bauer

Melissa is the Conference Treasurer – our recent habit has been to encourage treasurers to stay in their role for two years. If you’d like to read more details about Melissa, check out her previous answers at SIGUCCS 2018 Conference Committee Introductions – Melissa Bauer

How many SIGUCCS conferences have you attended?
17

SIGUCCS 2019 New Orleans … what is your favorite french food?
I love champagne, croissants, macarons, French fries, café au lait, and the list goes on.

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SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Keith McIntosh

This article is part of a series introducing the SIGUCS 2019 Conference Core Committee. Each Committee member submitted answers to questions created by the SIGUCCS Marketing Committee.

How many SIGUCCS conferences have you attended?
Two

Which previous SIGUCCS conference was your favorite, and why?
My first one, in 2014, was my favorite because it was new. I enjoyed meeting folks and experiencing the camaraderie of such a tight knit community. I had heard so much about SIGUCCS through a colleagues so I was happy to finally get to attend.

Continue reading SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Keith McIntosh

SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Becky Cowin

This article is part of a series introducing the SIGUCS 2019 Conference Core Committee. Each Committee member submitted answers to questions created by the SIGUCCS Marketing Committee.

Becky Cowin

How many SIGUCCS conferences have you attended?
3 (2016-2018)

Which previous SIGUCCS conference was your favorite, and why?
2017 in Seattle was the first year I really got involved, and that totally changed the experience for me. I enjoyed my first SIGUCCS, but being a volunteer and really making an effort to get out of my shell and meet people in 2017 made a huge difference in not only the experience AT the conference, but afterward, sustaining new professional relationships and friendships.

Continue reading SIGUCCS 2019 Conference Committee Introductions – Becky Cowin