A new collaboration will begin this fall between the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and Information Technology Services, aimed at supporting academic technology. 

Sean O'Bryan, computer support specialist within the school of architecture, will lead desktop support staff within IT Services. This new cross-functional role will build a greater understanding of academic technology needs within IT Services while developing innovative approaches to pursue faculty and student success.  

"The goal of this collaboration is to learn how to best support our faculty at the University of Arkansas. We've always approached this through our own lens of what support should look like, but our goal is to learn what our faculty need to be successful," Paige Francis, associate CIO, said.

In a unique move, this new collaboration will not involve any formal transfers or reporting structure changes because of strong support from Dean Peter MacKeith and Chief Information Officer Chris McCoy. 

"The Fay Jones school benefits from a productive and supportive relationship with IT Services. I challenged our technology director Scott Zemke and his staff to work with IT Services to build a model of technology infrastructure and service that serves our students and faculty, but also prototypes best practices for the university," MacKeith said. "Innovation to these ends comes from collaboration, but also from the good work of thoughtful, skillful individuals. I'm very glad that Sean and Scott are leading these efforts and being recognized for them."

"While this move is possibly unconventional, if our priority across campus technology is to provide excellent service for all of campus, it makes sense to push some boundaries and gather input and expertise from within our schools and colleges," Francis added. "It may turn out that we've been doing things perfectly all along, but instinct tells me we just might learn a few things along the way. Hopefully we have some great stories to tell after bridging any legacy campus service gaps."

Under the Achieve IT initiative, campus IT staff continue to seek efficiencies and partnerships that create new capacity for classroom technology to foster student success and research discovery. Learn more about this strategic initiative at campusit.uark.edu.