COUNCIL ON ACADEMIC COMPUTING

DR. GEORGE E. KLINZING, CHAIR
MEETING SUMMARY – OCTOBER 8, 2001

The meeting convened at 2:07 p.m.
 

MINUTES

No changes were requested to the minutes of the September 13, 2001 meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Information sessions are planned for the coming year. (Frieze suggested that Council be kept informed about use of technologies demonstrated in the past.)
  • Draus will serve as a liaison to the Security subcommittee of the Senate Computer Usage Committee.

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF COMPUTING SERVICES & SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT -- JINX WALTON

Walton responded to some recommendations made by last year's subcommittees at the close of the previous academic year.

  • Bandwidth: Student bandwidth has been doubled to 160 mb. The planned gigabit upgrade should improve quality of service.
  • Security: Security guidelines are being developed. The expert partners program provides departmental computer support personnel with tools and information about what CSSD is doing. Varying levels of security are in place in the form of firewalls. Server owners are responsible for virus screening. The Incident Response Team plans to become more public and proactive.
  • Systems Failure: CSSD is buidling redundancy with the Pittsburgh Super Computer and the Internet connection. CSSD is looking at disaster recovery.

COMMITTEE CHARGE

Provost Maher addressed Council and delivered the following charge.

  1. Look at communications with faculty regarding computing issues. Examine what other universities are doing and make recommendations about the best way(s) to communicate with faculty.
  2. Review the guidelines for the High Peformance Network Applications Initiative that were developed last year. Determine how well the past year's program worked.
  3. Work with the Advisory Council on Instructional Excellence on faculty training in and use of information technology in the development of research strengths. See if there are any holes in the program that need to be addressed.

He further stated that even if the University can't afford to implement specific technologies, it would be good to know what we'd like to do if we could afford it.

COMMITTEE BUSINESS

Subcommittees will be formed in response to the Provost's charge. Proposed membership for initial subcommittees is as follows:

High Performance Network Applications Initiative -- Dick, Galletta, Hoelzeman
Communications -- Cohn, Frieze, Vana

Klinzing will consult with Andrew Blair and Diane Davis regarding joint efforts with the Advisory Council on Instructional Excellence on faculty training initiatives.

NEW BUSINESS

No new business was discussed.

 

The meeting adjourned at 3:16 p.m.