by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
Two of UNM's technology departments will become one, starting July 1.
Computer and Information Resources and Technology will merge with the Telecommunications Department to form Information Technology Services.
The move will help the University community get more value out of the money it pays for technology, said Jane McGuire, strategic planner for the chief information officer.
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For example, the tunnels which house network and phone cables may become more efficient as the department starts figuring out how to use network cables for voice, she said.
"The tunnels are only so big, and so you need to optimize the expenditure of UNM's dollar," she said.
Moira Gerety, CIRT director, and Paula Loendorf, telecommunications director, will be co-directors and report to Bill Adkins, chief information officer.
McGuire said there will be no layoffs because of the change.
"We're taking the popcorn bowl, shaking up the popcorn, and it's all going to land in some different place - but it's the same pieces of popcorn," she said.
Anthony Mattson, a student who helps maintain CIRT's servers, said he is wary of the change.
"I am kind of worried about what's going to happen to me," he said. "I think a lot of people are uncertain about what's going to happen."
He anticipates being put under a new boss and possibly moved to a different work location, but he will not know until July 1, he said.
McGuire said Mattson's concern is natural and probably shared by other staffers.
"We want everyone to come along and be part of the solution," she said. "But I think there is always some apprehension that comes with change."
Gerety said some staff will have to take on new responsibilities.
"Some of the staff have new roles, and that can be hard for staff," she said. "A lot of our roles have not changed for years, and new skills have to be developed."
Loendorf said there may not be immediate noticeable benefits, but the consolidation will be good in the long run.
"It puts us more into the mainstream of how so many other organizations are organized, where you bring together, as much as possible, the technology organizations," she said. "What that really allows over time is a lot more synergy and efficiencies and really a lot more value for the University in how we do business."
McGuire said the new department will try to make more technology available for classrooms. For example, she wants to set up a lab where faculty can go to try out new technology, such as software that posts notes to WebCT immediately after class. Of course, actually using the technology is up to the instructors, she said.
"We can lead them to water and hope that they drink," she said.
McGuire said the reorganization is a step in the evolution of information services at UNM.
"No change is definitive," she said. "Change is constant."
Gerety said she wants the new department to be more responsive to new technologies.
"Today we just give, 'This is our service, take it or leave it,'" she said. "Tomorrow we want to say, 'Work with us to develop those new services.'"
McGuire said the reorganization will not cost or save the University any money, but it will provide a better service for the same cost.
