Vice President for Information Technology Status and Activity Report for September 2025
Prepared by Timothy M. Chester, Vice President for Information Technology (VPIT)
1. Key Items for Faculty and Staff Meetings
• New Associate CIO for Research Appointed: Jessica Kissinger, University Professor of Genetics, has been appointed Associate Chief Information Officer for Research, effective September 1, 2025. Kissinger is a founding member and former Director of the Institute of Bioinformatics, a member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, and a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. In this additional role, she will provide executive leadership for advancing UGA’s research technology strategy, supporting faculty in securing external funding, and facilitating compliance with evolving research data and security requirements. Kissinger’s appointment reflects her strong record of interdisciplinary collaboration, extensive experience in research computing, and commitment to supporting UGA’s research mission. Thanks are extended to the many stakeholders who participated in the search and interview process.
• New Duo Step for Microsoft Services Starting September: Beginning in September, a new Duo External Authentication Method policy will be applied to Microsoft services such as UGAMail, Teams, Office, and OneDrive. The change will be rolled out in phases, with retirees and departmental MyIDs on September 9, 2025, followed by students, faculty, and staff on September 23, 2025. As part of this change, users signing in from off campus will see an additional step in the login process and must click “Approve with UGA ArchPass Duo” after entering their MyID and password to receive the Duo push notification. This change affects students, faculty, staff, retirees, and departmental MyID users, and applies to both web and mobile sign-ins. Users may be required to reauthenticate on the first login after the change. After that, normal Duo prompt frequency will resume. On-campus sign-ins are not affected, as existing Duo bypass rules will remain in place. For more details, visit: https://eits.uga.edu/stories/newduostepformicrosoftservicesstartingseptember23/. For questions, contact Justin Sackett at justin.sackett@uga.edu.
• Digital Accessibility Tools Coming to Campus: A new federal rule requires state and local governments, including public universities, to follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines ensuring online programs, services, and activities can be used effectively by those with disabilities – including all materials posted to websites, mobile apps, and the learning management system. As a public university, UGA must meet standards for compliance by April 24, 2026. This fall, EITS will launch a new digital accessibility program, offering tools and training for campus to support these efforts. UGA has purchased a tool called Anthology Ally that can be integrated into learning management systems and websites to improve digital content accessibility. Ally for eLC will be integrated into our learning management system, eLearning Commons (eLC) in October to help instructors ensure course content meets accessibility standards. Ally for Web will be released in November to assist website managers in maintaining accessibility compliance across UGA websites. Additional program details and communication will be provided in September. For more information about the new rule and guidelines, visit https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/ or
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/. For more information, contact Sarah Jones at swjones@uga.edu
• September 20 Boyd Data Center Electrical Upgrade: This fall, EITS will continue upgrades to the Boyd Data Center electrical systems by replacing outdated, low-capacity circuit breaker panel boards with new high-density ones. These improvements build on the work completed in 2024 upgrade that increased the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) capacity from two 500 kVA systems to two 750 kVA systems. The first phase of the current upgrade was completed on August 26, 2025, when a distribution panel was shut down to allow contractors to remove conduit and wiring. The second phase is scheduled for September 20, 2025, and will leverage the enhanced UPS capacity to better support the Boyd data center’s growing power demands. No impact to campus is expected However, some servers in the data center will temporarily lose backup power while EITS safely installs new wiring and circuit breakers. For more information, contact Chris Fleming at cfleming@uga.edu.
2. Services for Students:
• Creative Engagement Wing Now Open at the MLC: The Creative Engagement Wing at the Miller Learning Center is now open, offering students access to state-of-the-art spaces where innovation meets technology. A collaboration between the UGA Libraries, Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS), and the Office of Instruction, the Wing is designed to foster collaboration, hands-on learning, and skill development in alignment with the comprehensive learner record (CLR). Students can explore immersive Virtual Reality, experiment with 3D printing, and collaborate with experts to enhance presentations and writing projects. The space also features tools for creative production, including podcast recording, video editing, sewing, and laser cutting. This new resource provides endless opportunities for students to engage, connect, and create. For more information contact Sarah Jones at swjones@uga.edu or visit https://www.libs.uga.edu/mlc/cew.
• New Services Available in UGA Google Workspace: On September 2, 2025, EITS launched two new tools in the Google workspace environment, Google Colab and YouTube. Google Colab is a browser-based Python development tool designed for research, data science, and machine learning. It supports collaborative coding and includes GPU acceleration. While Colab Pro remains a separate subscription, the standard version is now accessible to UGA users. YouTube is now enabled for UGA accounts, eliminating the need to switch between personal and institutional accounts to access or manage content. This change streamlines the user experience and resolves previous access restrictions, making it easier to view, share, and manage videos directly within your UGA account. For more information, contact Ashley Henry at ashenry@uga.edu
3. Services for Researchers:
• Research Data Stewardship Policy and Support Resources: The University of Georgia recently adopted a new Research Data Stewardship policy developed by UGA’s Research Data Management Advisory Council (RDMAC). This policy focuses on issues of ownership, sharing, and retention of research data in response to federal public access
and data management requirements. Additionally, the RDMAC is promoting steps to improve UGA’s services and infrastructure to support research data management. This includes the UGA Libraries’ new institutional and research data repository, UGA Open Scholar, and research data management planning consultation services offered through Research and Computational Data Management. The UGA Libraries and Office of Research will discuss the new policy and offer guidance and support resources at their “Research Live” Zoom event on November 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The RCDM team is also available to answer questions from individuals or schedule information sessions for UGA units or groups by request.
• IT Services Empowering Research at UGA: Discover the range of IT services available to support research at UGA during this UGA Libraries “Fall into Research” presentation by EITS leaders on Tuesday, September 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. In addition to high-performance computing resources, participants will learn about tools and support for data storage, research security, collaboration platforms, virtual environments, and more. Attend this Zoom session led by Ilir Hasko, Deputy CIO and Chief Technology Officer; Guy Cormier, Director of Research Computing; and Shan-Ho Tsai, Scientific Computing Professional Principal, to learn how UGA’s IT infrastructure can help advance your research. To register for this or other UGA Libraries Fall into Research sessions, visit the Research and Computational Data Management website at https://researchdata.uga.edu/fallintoresearch
• Updates to Research IT Services website: EITS and Research and Computational Data Management (RCDM) recently partnered to consolidate and update the Research IT Services web page. The new page offers an overview of research computing, storage, and tools and services for UGA researchers. Users who visit the old URLs (https://researchit.uga.edu or https://eits.uga.edu/support/faculty_it/research_it) will automatically be redirected to the new page on the RCDM website at https://researchdata.uga.edu/services/computing.
• GACRC teaching cluster available for Fall 2025: A small high-performance computing cluster devoted exclusively to teaching duties is available for use during the Fall 2025 semester. This cluster includes high-memory nodes and GPU-enabled nodes. The cluster, which is supported by the Georgia Advanced Computing Resource Center, was also in use during the spring. Faculty members interested in discussing the capabilities of the teaching cluster and how it might integrate with their coursework should contact Dr. Guy Cormier at gcormier@uga.edu.
4. Other General Services
• New EITS Website launching October 1: On October 1, 2025, EITS will launch its redesigned website on a new WordPress platform, featuring an updated look and feel. The site, available at eits.uga.edu, will focus on high-level information about UGA’s central IT department and its mission to provide IT solutions that enhance teaching, learning, research, and outreach. Information about EITS services and systems is available in our Knowledge Base at eitshelpdesk.uga.edu. Visitors to eits.uga.edu can search both the website and the Knowledge Base using the homepage search bar. We recommend reviewing and updating any bookmarked links to point to the Knowledge
Base for service and system information. For more information, contact eitscomm@uga.edu
• Submit One-Time STF Proposals: Submit requests for STF one-time funding: Requests for proposals for the FY26 STF one-time funding process were distributed to deans and unit heads August 29, 2025. Units who receive base STF allocations are eligible to submit requests for proposals. This one-time funding is in addition to any support that a college or unit may receive as a part of its base STF allocation and must be of an instructional nature. The proposals must be submitted through the office of the appropriate Vice President, Dean, or Associate Provost by October 10, 2025, to be considered during the current cycle. Please direct comments or questions to Dr. Toby Graham, chair of the Student Technology Fee Advisory Committee at tgraham@uga.edu or (706) 542-0621.
• Unified ERP Update: The Unified Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Project intends to replace the current institutional systems for human capital management, financials, and student information, improving the experience for students, faculty, and staff; streamlining core business processes; and unifying technology into a single, Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. In August, USG announced Deloitte as the System Implementer. The partnership with Deloitte begins in September 2025, marking the start of the planning phase for this transformative initiative. To prepare for the upcoming project activities this semester and to provide additional awareness to the UGA campus community, there are a series of activities occurring in the Fall 2025 Semester. Updates and information about semester activities will be shared on the UGA Project Website: UGA Project Website. For more information, contact Lynn Wilson, llatimer@uga.edu or Shawn Hill, shawnh@uga.edu.
• Ransomware Tabletop Exercise Planned for September 29 and 30: Ransomware has become one of the top business risks facing any large, distributed organization. To proactively raise our awareness and improve our continuity planning, EITS will host a Ransomware Tabletop Exercise at the Georgia Center on September 29 and 30. UGA has contracted with a leading cybersecurity firm to deliver operational and executive leadership tabletop exercises at UGA. For more information, contact Ben Myers at bmyers@uga.edu
• Biannual UGA SSO Upgrade Planned for September 19, 2025: UGA’s single sign-on service, UGA SSO, will undergo scheduled maintenance on September 19, 2025. This maintenance is necessary to move the service to the latest version and to receive up-todate security patching. In preparation, EITS will not move any new applications to production UGA SSO after August 15, 2025, until the upgrade is complete in September. EITS applies updates to UGA SSO twice a year, in February and September. For more information, contact Kristi Wall at kristi.wall@uga.edu.
• Employee and Affiliate Clean-up Planned for September: EITS has an automated cleanup process for employee and affiliate MyIDs; this automated process will run this fall. Employees and affiliates who have left the university but have not yet had their accounts disabled or UGAMail mailboxes removed will have their MyIDs flagged for disablement and deletion. Employees and affiliates who have their accounts flagged will receive two automated emails to their UGAMail address, alerting them that their account will be disabled and deleted soon. Account holders who are attending UGA for a degree program will not have their accounts removed, and employees who have retired from UGA are still eligible to keep their UGAMail addresses. Affected users will be sent two email notices in
September. Accounts will be disabled in late September. For questions, contact Kristi Wall at kristi.wall@uga.edu
• QuestionPro Survey Research Tool Now Available: QuestionPro is the new enterprise survey research tool available to students, faculty, and staff free of charge. This platform includes tools for the creation, distribution, and analysis of surveys, along with tabletbased mobile research and data visualization. EITS launched QuestionPro for campus use by faculty and staff on March 17, 2025, and it is now available to all students, faculty and staff. There will be two migration and training sessions this fall on September 4 and October 6, 2025. Registration links for these sessions are available at https://eits.uga.edu/about/initiatives/survey_tool/migrationworkshops/. All recordings from the migration and training sessions from spring have been uploaded at the link above. For more information about QuestionPro, visit questionpro.uga.edu or contact surveytools@uga.edu.
• Qualtrics Cost-Sharing Program Planning Underway: To assist departments interested in continued use of Qualtrics after December 2025, EITS has instituted a cost-sharing program. The deadline to opt-in to the cost-sharing program was May 1, 2025, and costsharing program participants have received recommendations for survey clean-ups. Effective January 2026, Qualtrics access will be limited to cost-sharing program participants only, and UGA Single Sign-On will be required. Current faculty and staff who are not part of the cost-sharing program will retain Qualtrics access through December 2025 and have received information on transitioning to alternative survey tools. Students will have access to Qualtrics until August 1, 2025. After this time, they should use QuestionPro as their primary survey tool. For more information, contact surveytools@uga.edu.
• Fall Biannual Network Maintenance Scheduled for November 2, 2025: EITS plans to conduct its fall biannual network maintenance on Sunday, November 2, 2025. EITS conducts biannual network maintenance in the fall and spring each year to support the network and provide ample bandwidth and internet capacity to the university. The maintenance will result in intermittent outages of campus Internet access, telephone services, and various UGA information systems, including UGA Single Sign-On, UGA websites, and wireless networks. For more information, contact Rayid Tartir at rayid@uga.edu.
• Teams Phone Available for Campus Units: EITS now offers Teams Phone, a cloudbased, next-generation phone system provided by Microsoft. Teams Phone allows UGA employees to communicate and collaborate anytime, anywhere, on any device. It integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft Teams application on laptops, tablets, or mobile devices, allowing employees to access all calls, chats, calendar invites, and meetings in one place. EITS will transition all phone lines off the legacy PBX and onto Teams Phone by March 2026. Telephone Services is scheduling departments that have not already scheduled their transition to Teams Phone. DTRs should fill out a Teams Phone Onboarding Request for their unit at https://uga.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/3190/eitsclientportal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID =54344 as soon as possible. Upon receiving the onboarding request, approximately six weeks prior to the port date, Telephone Services will schedule a large group meeting to address any concerns and answer questions. The Teams Phone transition does not affect AT&T Centrex/HVS users or phone lines outside of the Athens area. As part of this
project, Telephone Services has successfully transitioned around 3000 phone extensions. For more information, contact Steven Duffee at sduffee@uga.edu.
• Transition from Omni CMS to Kaptiv8 WordPress by December 2025: Effective December 2025, Omni CMS (formerly OmniUpdate) will no longer be offered as a content management system for university websites. EITS recommends WordPress provided by Kaptiv8 as an alternative solution for content management and website hosting. All university websites using Omni CMS must migrate to WordPress or another website hosting platform by the end of 2025. The transition from Omni CMS to WordPress was announced in 2023 and began in early 2024. To learn more about options for transitioning to WordPress, visithttps://uga.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/3190/eitsclientportal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1 58743 For more information, contact David Crouch at dave@uga.edu
5. Did you Know?
• 2025-2026 Faculty Staff Guide Now Available: The 2025-2026 Faculty Staff Guide is now available. All faculty and staff received an email to their UGAMail in late-August with the link to the new guide, which can also be accessed here: 2025-2026 EITS Faculty Staff Technology Guide. If you would like a physical copy, printed guides are available and can be mailed upon request. To request a guide, contact Emily Enelow at emily.enelow@uga.edu.
• Microsoft 365 is Free for all Students, Faculty and Staff: UGA provides Microsoft 365 software to eligible students, faculty, and staff. The suite includes full versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and Outlook. Users also receive access to OneDrive cloud storage, allowing for easy access to saved documents from any location. For questions regarding Microsoft 365 you can visit the EITS Knowledge Base at eitshelpdesk.uga.edu, or contact the EITS Help Desk at 706-542-3106, email helpdesk@uga.edu.
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