A cheerful group of campus members gathered Thursday, August 9, in the lower level of Howarth Hall to celebrate the successful implementation of PeopleSoft Financials as part of Optimize Puget Sound. The event featured refreshments, cake, live music, and lots of opportunities to visit and reflect on the accomplishments of the Financials team. Team leads added their signatures to the large wall sign in the Optimize computer lab, and representatives from Accounting and Budget Services autographed a Financials logo sign to place in their department.

The Financials celebration this week marked a significant milestone in this important project. We happily anticipate more celebrations as the Human Resources and Campus Solutions teams move forward with their work. For more information, see the Optimize home page and Optimize blog.

As of August 1, Julie Coleman is the new Classroom and Events Media Specialist in Technology Services. Julie graduated in May from Puget Sound with a degree in comparative sociology. Over the past four years, she worked in TS as part of the department’s student staff. Julie says of her student experience, “I feel the training I received in my work-study position in Media Services was just like a second major. I could not have wished for a better outcome to my studies than gaining a permanent position as Classroom and Events Media Specialist.”

A native of Spokane, Julie worked in the state correctional system, among other positions, before her arrival at Puget Sound.

Julie is working in event and classroom support, including maintenance, installations, and programming audio-visual systems in classrooms, conference rooms, and large-scale venues. We are very excited to have Julie as a member of the TS staff!

Technology Services is pleased to announce two new additions to our staff list!

Ethan Moreley is the new Copy Services Technician at Print and Copy Services. Ethan is working toward an associates degree in visual communications and was previously employed by Green River Community College. Ethan is experienced in a wide range of graphics software and enjoys drawing and fishing.

Garrett Dieckmann is the new Implementation Developer for Optimize Puget Sound. In this role, he will work with the Enterprise Information Systems team to implement PeopleSoft. Originally from San Diego, Garrett is a 2012 Puget Sound graduate who spent his senior year working as Project Assistant for Optimize Puget Sound.

Ethan and Garrett, we’re glad to have you here!

The Office of Communications issued a news release today on a recent agreement between Puget Sound and Pomona College in Claremont, CA. Check it out to learn how this innovative approach will provide enhanced data protection for both institutions in the event of disaster.

Technology Services extends congratulations to the Class of 2012 and especially to these seniors from our own student staff:

Anthea Aasen
Evan Arnold
Jan Biernacke
Julie Coleman
Garrett Dieckmann
Matt Dreaney
Lindsay Fuson
Chris Hale
Stephanie Hoffee
Megan Janes
Chris McGee
Daniel Parecki
Josh Schmidtlein
Shana Tsukiyama

We appreciate your great work and wish you all good luck in your future endeavors!

The spring issue of the Technology Services quarterly newsletter, TechNews, is out!

Topics include the telephone system replacement, Business Professor Eda Gurel-Atay’s use of technology workshops for her marketing class, and offerings from Print and Copy Services, as well as updates on Optimize Puget Sound, the Moodle upgrade, and PrintGreen.

The next issue of TechNews is scheduled for distribution in August. Please send ideas for articles and other suggestions to technews@pugetsound.edu.

Residents of campus housing should see significantly faster Internet connections thanks to an increase in bandwidth implemented Tuesday, April 10. The increase is from 150 Mbps (megabits per second) to 250 Mbps, which combined with the 100 Mbps connection in academic buildings takes the overall campus connection to 350 Mbps. One Mbps is a data transfer rate of one million bits (125,000 bytes) per second.

Enjoy!

Technology Services is pleased to welcome John deGroot as the newest member of the Technology Services staff. As database administrator, John will support the Oracle database and PeopleSoft and Hyperion application server environments required for Optimize Puget Sound.

A native of Lancaster, PA, and graduate of Bucknell University, John’s previous work roles include database administrator at Regence Blue Shield and application developer at Georgetown University.

John has been a hobby beekeeper and member of the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association since 1996. He serves as caretaker of the observation hive at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. In addition to his beekeeping activities, John studies and practices pre-modern coin making techniques as a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism.

Welcome to Puget Sound, John!

Technology Services has produced the first issue of TechNews, a quarterly newsletter distributed to faculty and staff and in various public locations across campus. Topics include the launch of Optimize Puget Sound, Visiting Professor Holley Hansen’s use of technology in the classroom, and plans for implementing PrintGreen in the fall semester.

The next issue of TechNews is scheduled for distribution in April. Please send ideas for articles and other suggestions to technews@pugetsound.edu.

Technology Services is pleased to note three new names on the department’s staff list.

Alexis Greenwood and Jessica Hartenstine have both joined the Client Support team as desktop support specialists. Alexis is a 2010 Puget Sound graduate with experience in customer relations and marketing. As a student at the university, Alexis worked for Technology Services as part of the ResNet and Telephony teams. Jessica holds degrees from Pierce College and Tacoma Community College. She has extensive educational and work experience in information technology with a strong focus on customer service and technical support. Both Alexis and Jessica will be assisting members of the campus community who contact the Client Support team for technical support.

Emily Precht-Patterson is the new project coordinator for Optimize Puget Sound. Also a 2010 Puget Sound graduate, she specialized in event planning and market research in previous work positions. Emily is assisting with the extensive scheduling of meetings and development of various communications required in the management of Optimize Puget Sound.

Welcome, Alexis, Jessica, and Emily! We are glad to have you as part of the Puget Sound family.