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Hero Of Technology: How Problems Meet UNC’s Solution
By Steve Dinnebeck
In the world today we focus on heroes doing heroic acts. Firefighters, paramedics and police officers come to mind. However, what about the everyday heroes? Those heroes who take on the day-to-day problems.
Those who help the professors and faculty at UNC on a day-to-day basis are the unsung heroes of technology. Phillip Wyperd, the supervisor of West Campus Information Technology, is one of those technology heroes. His office is in the basement of Michener Library.
Wyperd assigns the day-to-day work to the 24 technicians working at UNC. He arrives a little before eight in the morning. He normally starts each day by going through his e-mail and drinking his coffee.
8:27 a.m.
A UNC Computer's Life Cycle
Wyperd's office is moderately sized. There are no windows on the walls, but two doors and a wallpaper picture of a beautiful mountain landscape fill the absence of windows. A large desk dominates a third of the room. Four chairs fill the room; two sit around a small conference table. Wyperd began his day with a phone conference about two new computers needing to be set up on campus.
"Any time we get a new computer to replace the old, we nuke the old ones," Wyperd says.
He explains the old computers’ hard drives are erased and then redistributed. He adds that some of the computers may make their way to the Department of Corrections.
8:42
The Hidden Secret of the ITs
Wyperd takes a short walk to one of the server rooms down the hall of Michener's basemnt. The servers reside behind a passkey door and a second locked door.
"We have to protect ourselves from thieves," Wyperd says jokingly as he opens the seconddoor.
The room is small. The walls are barren with the exception of a cobweb of wiring. Several servers reside in the room, along with the server for the Apple computers in Candelaria Hall.
Wyperd explains eventually all of the servers will be moved to Central campus. He reassures the servers are backed up in Denver so there is no chance of failure.
Wyperd makes his way to what he calls the IT work room. It's a room about the same size as any computer lab on campus. However, this computer lab looks more like a workshop. Shelves are filled with electronics, workbenches sit randomly in the room and two desks, each with three computer screens, occupy the room.
9:25
The Fun of Being an Information Technology Technician
Wyperd's arrival is greeted with snickering from the IT technicians.
"I think I have figured it out. Come over here," IT technician Tim Martin said excitedly.
Martin had been assigned to figure out how to run a movie during a computer's start up. The theme music of the car insurance company Geico plays, producing a laugh from Wyperd. He walks over to Martin's desk and begins to laugh harder. On the screen is a Geico music video featuring one of the cavemen from the commercial. Since a movie has not been created for his assignment yet, he decided to use the video as a supplement.
10:39
Helping the Faculty
Wyperd travels to Ross Hall to help a faculty member and friend, Vicki Ouellette, the administrative assistant of the earth sciences program. Her desk seems to be an explosion of character, little mementos cover the surface and everything has a splash of color. Recently, Ouellette's computer was infected with a virus and lost everything.
"We all like to sit around and watch Phil do his work. He's like a guru with the computer," Ouellette said.
Wyperd made his way to his office to have a meeting with his boss, Brad Sharp. The meeting was private, and soon after he had lunch.
He quickly returned to complete his day in the office. Wyperd says every day seems to be a little different. In his 10 years at UNC, he has developed a strong relationship between the faculty and the IT department.
"We could easily do all of our work out of our offices and in the work room. Because we get out there and help the faculty, it keeps tempers down when we're backed up," Wyperd said.
He and the rest of the IT department help everyone who asks. They swoop in to save the day and move on to the next person in distress. When there is a frozen computer, they can help. If you can't work the smart room, they will be there. The IT technicians are the heroes of the day-to-day work at the University of Northern Colorado.
Services provided to UNC by Information Technology
• Maintenance and assistance of administrative systems.
• Advising for the Information Technology Committee.
• Adware and anti-virus information.
• BearMail.
• Computer labs.
• Internet.
• Internet banners.
• E-mail spam defense.
• Encryption.
• Exam scoring.
• Passwordd.
• Reporting security incidents to the proper authorities,
• Smart classrooms.
• Software.
• Staff directory.
• Telephone service.
• URSA.
Source: Information Technology Web site.
Steve Dinnebeck