Archives
Questions & Answers
Elias Eldayrie is associate vice president for information technology.
You recently were promoted to associate vice president for
information technology. What are your new duties?
As an
associate vice president for information technology, I am responsible
for the Computing and Information Technology (CIT) organization. I also
work closely with the university community on meeting our campus IT
needs. I will continue to chair the Administrative System Advisory Board
(ASAB) and consult with the university community regarding enterprise
administrative applications, as well as IT services, needs and
requirements.
In general, how is the state of IT at UB?
Although we have
much to do, the state of IT at UB is great! Our university is a national
leader in the effective use of technology. If it is happening in IT,
it's happening at UB. UB has been recognized for its innovative use of
technology in support of research, the integrated planning and
implementation of its student-access programs in support of teaching and
the development of an individualized portal to allow our students to
access needed resources and services quickly and effectively. For the
past five years, UB has taken a leadership role in the IT community
within SUNY and nationally. Our goal of achieving excellence has been
recognized by Yahoo and Peterson's guide by ranking UB 10th most wired
institution in the nation. Other institutions in the top 10 included
Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Dartmouth, MIT, Indiana and Virginia.
IT has remained a top priority at the university. Why is it
important that UB be on the cutting edge?
Information technology
is an essential ingredient in UB's ability to attract and educate
students, and support faculty, researchers and educational programs. We
need to continue to embrace information technology, despite its
complexity and regardless of budget cuts—it is vital to the
university's future.
Besides the Center for Computational Research and the New York
State Center for Engineering Design and Industrial Innovation, what are
UB's IT-based strengths?
We are very proud of CCR, NYSCEDII and
all the centers of excellence on campus. They have and continue to
advance our university's goal of excellence regionally and nationally.
Other IT-based strengths include our infrastructure and our staff. Our
IT infrastructure is one of the best in the country. The many years of
investment and planning by our campus are paying a huge dividend to our
faculty, students, staff and community. We are considered a model by our
colleagues across the country for our IT infrastructure. Moreover, we
have some of the most talented staff in the IT industry. We are
recognized regionally and nationally because of their talent and
commitment to excellence. They are simply terrific!
What's new regarding IT at UB?
We continue to invest in
many important information technology initiatives. Some of these
initiatives include, but are not limited to:
Regional Network Infrastructure. The Bioinformatics Network Initiative (BNI) will link, with UB's own infrastructure, the North Campus, South Campus, Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), Hauptman Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) and the UB Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics at 901 Washington St. to the New York State Education and Research Network (NYSERNet) located at 350 Main St.
Voice over IP, the convergence of voice and data networks and the deployment of a uniform campus architecture for the delivery of telephone service
Wireless. We will continue the deployment of wireless technology across the campus and maintain an awareness of the rapidly changing environment for both local area and wide area (broadband) capabilities.
E-requisition. This initiative will enable the processing of State, Research Foundation and UB Foundation purchasing requisitions from one's desktop electronically.
Improvement of student's printing experience at the public sites, Cybraries and departmental labs. We plan to implement a network-based, print-management infrastructure to improve student service satisfaction. This project also will address the issues of resource accountability, predictability of service, cost control and environmentally friendly practices in UB's public computing labs and Cybraries (23 locations). More information regarding the projects can also be found at http://wings.buffalo.edu/it/asab.
How is the effort going to upgrade regular classrooms to IT
classrooms?
We are working hard on upgrading current technology
classrooms and enabling new ones. Our schedule for this year's
educational technology classroom upgrades will include rooms in Alumni
Arena, Kimball Tower and Baldy, Diefendorf, Capen, Clemens and Cooke
halls. We are targeting the end of this summer to complete this
project.
There seems to be a new virus or worm making the rounds every
week. Has this posed a serious problem for CIT? How can the average user
protect his or her computer?
Viruses and worms have been and
will continue to be a major challenge to all of us. It is a problem for
organizations and individuals around the world. Of course, UB has had
its share of difficulties with viruses as well. UB, however, faired very
well, as compared to many other institutions across the country. We have
invested tremendous amounts of time and resources into dealing with
these issues, both within CIT and across the campus. More investments
will be on going as hackers are becoming more sophisticated in spreading
out viruses. It is a moving target for all of us. As for the average
users, they need to be sure that their IT devices are up-to-date with
the latest patches and that they run antivirus software on their
machines as a defensive measure. They also should delete any email that
seems questionable and/or consult with their IT staff before opening any
suspicious mail. I would encourage everyone to work closely with their
IT support staff for the best approach, considering their IT
environment.
You spent a good portion of your UB career working in the areas of
student accounts, financial aid and enrollment management. Have you
become a computer geek since joining the CIO's Office?
No.
Today, I spend most of my time dealing with planning, project management
and people issues, as opposed to technical issues. My job is about
supporting and managing very competent technical staff as we try to meet
our customer's needs. As we like to say in our office, "It is all about
the people, not the technology." My experience in the functional areas,
coupled with my technical education, come in handy as I carry on my
day-to-day responsibilities.