Office of Information Technology News
Banner Upgrade
An upgrade from Banner version 7 to Banner version 8 is planned for Labor Day weekend. While some areas will receive new features, most people will not see any changes. The timing of the upgrade has been coordinated between the Office of Information Technology and many other University divisions and departments to minimize the impact of extended Banner unavailability. Please keep this date in mind as you make plans for your area that may involve Banner access.
College of Engineering (COE) Moving to UA-NET in June
The College of Engineering (COE) is moving to the UA-NET domain on the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Exchange server. The move is in progress right now and should be completed by Thursday, June 18. There will be no e-mail downtime. For more information, go to http://oit.ua.edu/projects/engineering/index.html.
UA Student E-mail Moving to Google in May
Student e-mail is moving from BamaMail to Gmail. Crimson, the University’s partnership with Google, will be launching the weekend of May 8-10. Student account names and passwords will not change, and mail will still be accessed through myBama. During the launch weekend, all mail currently being delivered to student accounts @bama.ua.edu addresses will start being forwarded to students' new @crimson.ua.edu addresses, and all mail and address book entries stored on BamaMail will be copied to Crimson. There is no scheduled e-mail downtime. Watch for details over the coming weeks. For more information, go to http://oit.ua.edu/crimson/index.html.
New Winter 2009 Issue of FrontLine Security Newsletter Available
OIT has subscribed to the quarterly FrontLine Security Newsletter from Computer Security Institute (CSI). This newsletter contains both industry-wide and UA-specific security information. As part of our subscription, this newsletter may only be downloaded from computers on the University of Alabama network. The current issue and archive of past issues will always be located on the OIT Web site.
The 2009 Computer Security Awareness Student Video and Poster Contest
The EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force, in cooperation with the ResearchChannel and CyberWATCH, is conducting its third annual contest in search of computer security awareness posters and short videos developed by college students for college students. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2009. Enter to win cash prizes of up to $1,000.
John McGowan Named Vice Provost and Chief Information Officer
Dr. John P. McGowan is the new vice provost and chief information officer at The University of Alabama. McGowan has more than 20 years’ experience in information technology. Immediately prior to joining the University, McGowan served as vice provost for information technology and chief information officer at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
UA System partners with NASA to build Regional Optical Network
The University of Alabama System in partnership with NASA has purchased dark fiber and networking equipment to build a regional optical network (RON). Within the next couple of months, UA’s connection to the RON will be complete.