College’s Computing Support Recognized for Innovative Response to COVID Crisis

SUNY Plattsburgh’s IT team was cited at the state level for keeping the college community connected — to one another and to the rest of the world — when the pandemic shuttered campus last spring.

Plattsburgh’s Library and Information Technology Services Computer Systems and Desktop Support team collectively was honored with SUNY Council of Chief Information Officer’s Team Collaboration Award “for extraordinary work to ensure academic instructional continuity during the initial COVID-19 campus crisis in spring 2020, facilitating conversion to a more remote-oriented, technology-based learning environment and sharing those solutions across SUNY.”

According to Holly Heller-Ross, dean of LITS, the combination of efforts, including integrating Zoom with the campus platform, Moodle, and remote access to desktops for employees working from home, “were innovative and critical to our success.”

“Working with the team under challenging circumstances could have been daunting, but in fact, the team approached each project in a thoughtful, organized and efficient manner,” Dr. John Locke, coordinator, technology enhanced learning, said in support of the team’s  nomination for the CCIO award. “At all times they listed to our input as advocates for faculty needs and concerns, were receptive to our suggestions, built on those and offered alternatives when appropriate.

“It was a truly inspiring, collegial exchange that yielded high-quality, sustainable solutions for our faculty and students in record time,” he said.

Heller-Ross agreed, saying the strategies “worked well, enabled campus business continuity at a critical time, are quite sustainable and currently still in operation today.”

“Words cannot fully express my appreciation and respect for this team — and so many others in LITS — who continue to provide their very best creative and cost-effective solutions to help our campus deliver on our promise to change and improve the lives of our students,” she said.

The SUNY Council of Chief Information Officers Awards recognize groups or teams that promote collaboration within the SUNY IT sector and are intended to recognize individuals, groups or institutions whose work exemplifies information officers’ efforts to build and support SUNY’s IT community.

Presented annually, the awards “represent the council’s desire to promote our values of integrity, collaboration, creativity and innovation throughout SUNY’s IT departments.”

“They have been operating at full speed since March and show no signs of slowing down,” Heller-Ross said. “As a member of the SUNY CCIO, I hear a lot about what is happening on other campuses, and I knew that our team had done superb work that deserved SUNY-wide recognition.”