April 8, 2008 issue
I worked in the banking industry for 10 years before coming to EMU, and it was very different going from a corporate culture to an academic one. There's more of a concern for people's well-being here.
We have a lot of cooperation and collaboration among our offices, and that collegiality is one of the things that makes Eastern a great place to work. I think we're always trying to improve the services we provide and the efficiency with which we do that. It's all about making things easier for students.
I came to Admissions in 1992 to help the department transition from a paper-based system of tracking student information to a computerized one. Before that, I spent two years in University Computing.
New technologies are always pushing us to take a fresh look at what we do and find ways to do it more efficiently. As an information systems coordinator, it's my job to make sure we're making the best use of our technology and to provide support for those who use it.
On any given day, that could include analyzing and optimizing the department's business processes, introducing new software systems, or installing and testing upgrades.
I'm particularly proud of the work we've done in digital imaging. We now scan admissions documents when they come into the office, making the digital copies available for academic advising and academic departments in just a few clicks. In November, I helped expand that technology to the offices of Academic Advising, and Records and Registration. I'm currently working on a system that would automate part of the undergraduate admissions decision-making process, saving not just time, but also a lot of paper. I enjoy the challenge of bringing in new technologies and working with people, and I like working in an environment where things are changing all the time and moving forward.
