IT Services Makes Its Mark at EDUCAUSE '22

The premier higher ed IT event was well attended by IT Services, featuring in-person sessions and presentations given by Carolyn Ellis and Claire Mizumoto, and an exclusive online-only session featuring Mike Corn.

By Todd Andersen, Communications Specialist

UC San Diego IT Services was well represented at this year’s EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, held in Denver, CO on October 25-28, and online the following week of November 2-3. The premier higher ed IT event featured in-person sessions and presentations given by Carolyn Ellis and Claire Mizumoto, and an exclusive online-only session featuring Mike Corn.

Regardless of how they attended – in-person or online – the impact of the annual conference was clear: the power and productivity of collaborating on higher education IT solutions with peers from around the world. “This was my first time at EDUCAUSE,” says Nathalie Gholmieh, Director of Integration Services. “I can say that the best part of the experience for me was getting together with IT Services colleagues as well as the keynote from Priya Parker, on how to make gatherings meaningful and intentional.”

For Kevin Chou, Executive Director of Business Technology Services, the event provided an opportunity to finally connect with collaborators in-person. Specifically, those implementing Oracle Student Financial Planning from Rutgers University, and those working on student analytics from Denver University, most of whom he met during the pandemic via Zoom. Kevin elaborates, “There’s something unique about meeting someone in person, that no matter what we do via Zoom, we can’t seem to recreate.” It seems that many attendees shared this same sentiment, as Kevin noted that the energy at the conference was “definitely noteworthy.”

Part of that noteworthy energy came from community group sessions such as the “Women in IT Community Group,” featuring Senior Project Policy Analyst Carolyn Ellis. “I enjoyed participating in that session much more than I expected to,” Carolyn states. “There were even a few CIOs who stopped by inquiring about resources and support for their underrepresented staff members.”

In addition to her community group activities, Carolyn also served as presenter for the IT Security focused “Jump Start Your NSPM-33 Research Security Compliance Program.” EDUCAUSE also hosts a conference explicitly for security professionals, so this was an opportunity to discuss IT Security with the greater IT community. Representing the online contingent of UC San Diego IT Services attendees/presenters, CISO Mike Corn participated in the “CMMC: Where Are We Now” session, providing attendees a chance to ask questions and receive resources about Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) from the “people in the trenches.”        

For Director of Research IT Services Claire Mizumoto, EDUCAUSE also promotes the opportunity to build a national community for Research Computing and Data+ (RCD+) professionals – who comprise relatively small communities at each research institution. As co-lead of the RCD+ community group, Claire and her colleagues from Northwestern and North Carolina State collaborated this year to present “Making the Case for Research IT Support.” Claire recalls, “We had about 60 attendees, lots of questions and feedback, with a couple of people who wanted to reach out to talk more about RCD programs.” Multiple attendees told Claire that the UC San Diego Research IT Services program is considered successful and “others have modeled their programs to be like yours.” This perception drives her continued high-level involvement in the EDUCAUSE conference and in the RCD+ community group it supports.  

Reflecting on the take-home value of the EDUCAUSE conference, Claire sums up what each of her IT Services colleagues had to say about their experience: “It’s difficult to describe the benefits of the in-person participation to those who expect the insights and benefits to come only from conference sessions; the sessions are usually interesting and worth the price of admission, but the real benefit comes from the meetings and meals you spend with other attendees.” The next EDUCAUSE Annual Conference will be held on October 9-12, 2023, in Chicago, IL.