Office of Information Technology

Technology Advisory Board (TAB)
Minutes of Meeting of April 17, 2002

Location: 4th Floor Conference Room, Andy Holt Tower
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 PM

In Attendance:

Members: Allen Cain, Will Carver, Chris Cimino, Elizabeth Clement, Jim Gehlhar, James Hughes, Matthew Johnson, Julie Little, Bryce McKenzie, Faye Muly, Marla Peterson, Phil Stimac, Lee Warren, Luther Wilhelm

Others: Nancy Gnilka, Judy Travis

New Student TAB Appointees

Will Carver introduced Elizabeth Clement, the SGA President for FY03. Also introduced were five new student voting member appointees nominated by the new SGA President. They are as follows:

The Board unanimously approved the nominations. With the conclusion of the vote, Mr. Carver passed his duties on to Matt Johnson who assumed his role as the new student Co-Chair.

Ms. Clement indicated five ex-officio student members remaining to be chosen (one from each branch of SGA) should be appointed within the next few weeks. She will pass the names along to Mr. Johnson and Ms. Gnilka as soon as they are available.

Faculty and staff TAB appointments will be reviewed during the summer and replacements made as necessary.

FY03 Technology Fee Budget Summary

Ms. Gnilka distributed a two-page summary illustrating the major areas, which included departmental awards as well as some of the new projects, made possible with the technology fee. Based on a five million dollar budget, the expenditures were broken down as follows:

24%    Public Student Computer Labs
20%    Student Support Services
20%    Network Access Enhancements
14%    Departmental Student Computer Labs
12%    Academic Technology Services
10%    Debt Repayment-FY03

Ms. Gnilka explained a summary of the actual deliverables for FY02 should be available this summer on the technology fee website. A summary of the proposed deliverables for FY03 will also be posted.

Luther Wilhelm spoke of the importance of the technology fee from his personal experience on the Agricultural campus. Dr. Wilhelm indicated they simply would not have had an effective teaching lab without the monies from the technology fee. At the time the technology fee was implemented, their lab had outdated computers, which were not conducive for teaching. Ms. Muly also indicated that while working for the College of Engineering they were able to replace computers in their Graphics Lab that were at least ten years old during the early years of technology fee funding.

Marla Peterson asked if technology fee funding has ever attracted additional monies. Ms. Gnilka indicated a few of the departmental requests for technology fee funding have included matching dollars from outside university sources. No formal study has been conducted on this issue.

For the new student participants in TAB, Ms Muly explained the process for the following fiscal year begins with the February and March meetings when the departmental requests for technology fee funding are reviewed. She also encouraged the new members to check out the technology fee web site, as it is an excellent source for historical information concerning the technology fee.

Ms. Muly reiterated the technology fee funding (approximately $5.1 million per year) has made a significant contribution to information technology on campus. The technology fee is going into its seventh fiscal year, and the students can feel very proud of their contribution to the campus infrastructure.

Ms. Gnilka asked if there were any questions about next year's projects. The following areas were discussed:

Extension of Library Laptop Check-Out Project - Mr. Johnson related whenever he has been at the library lately, all 20 of the laptops were checked out. He has gotten very good feedback from the students about this facility, and they would like more laptops to be funded. Ms. Muly indicated the library is donating the personnel and maintenance support for the program, and although the dollar amount for the laptops is not significant, we would have to see if the library is willing to augment this program.

Status of Presidential Court Training Facility - Mr. Carver reported the blueprints are approved and materials are currently being ordered for the Training Lab in Presidential Court. It will provide between 16-20 computers. The goal is to be open by Fall 2002; however, it will depend on the work schedule of UT Physical Plant. This facility will allow classes to be scheduled without pre-empting the open labs. Ms. Muly noted this project has become a reality because of the student input and actions. Most of the students involved will see the lab become a reality before they graduate.

Wireless Network Incompatibilities - Dr. Peterson inquired if the two different wireless access protocols in Claxton would be "reconciled" anytime soon. Dr. Peterson indicated there were many operational difficulties when moving from one side of the complex to the other when trying to use the network via wireless access. Mr. Johnson indicated he had spoken to Dewitt Latimer recently who indicated it would not be a problem after this summer. The networking group has decided to replace the protocol being used by the current AC client and in the near future everyone should be able to access the wireless network using their netID and password. There are approximately 1300 access points on campus, which will need to be changed, but the work should be completed before the fall semester begins.

PDA Symposium

Julie Little reported on the success of the PDA Symposium held on April 16, 2002. It was well attended by faculty, staff, and students with about five percent from off campus. Dr. Little feels PDA's will add tremendously to portability and will provide faculty with a powerful new tool. ITC is going to maintain the symposium website at http://itc.utk.edu/pda and will continue to build on it.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on July 17, 2002, at 2:00PM in the 4th Floor Conference Room of Andy Holt Tower.

Minutes Prepared by: Judy Travis