Spring Arbor University Crusader

Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Michael Metts Help Desk Technician

Hidden away in the basement of Dietzman Hall, the Technology Services department is not a place students often think of unless they're getting an ethernet cable or a passport photo. However, everyday tasks like using Blackboard, printing off papers before class, checking your e-mail and even late night YouTubing sessions would not be possible without the hard work of this department.

Technology Services is led by Dr. Reed Sheard, vice president and CIO. Dr. Sheard's work background is incredibly diverse, ranging from working as a national account executive at Apple Computer to working as an associate pastor at a Baptist Church in Oregon. He manages all aspects of the department and speaks very highly of his staff.

"I think I manage one of the better technical staffs of any Christian university in the country," said Sheard. "This is demonstrated in a number of different ways such as stability of services, responsiveness to technical problems when they arise, new services, the breadth of technologies we manage and hopefully the way in which we serve the various constituent groups on campus, in the centers and online."

One thing students may not be familiar with is just what their technology fee goes toward. The fee was initiated because of a gap between the cost of delivering technology to the students and the Tech Services budget. Dr. Sheard noted that because of the fee, over 150 new services have been instituted for students. These include the MySAU Portal (versions 1-3), over 1.3 million pages of free printing in the labs per year, high-speed printers in the labs, LCD displays for student computers, wireless access on campus, extended Help Desk hours, 14 T-1 lines' worth of internet bandwidth, software licenses for Microsoft, Adobe and Apple products in the labs and much more.

Some exciting projects for the future that will benefit students include computers that run both Windows and Mac OS, e-mail addresses using the form of firstname.lastname@arbor.edu, wireless access in dorm rooms by fall 2009, and larger LCD displays in the library lab, among others.

The department is made up of several smaller departments. Support Services is headed up by Christy Randall and includes the Help Desk, Computer Repair Center, the Switchboard and Media Services. The Help desk employs 19 student workers and supports not only the main campus and its computer labs but also all of SAU's satellite locations. One of the projects, Support Services, is currently working on is a self-help website which will allow many students to solve technological problems on their own and make the Help Desk more efficient.

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