Welcome to the IT Staff Excellence page!
IT staff participate in activities which enhance our skills and knowledge as experts in our respective fields. Continue to learn more about the academic and professional leadership and service activities, outreach on and off campus, staff authored publications, academic degrees and professional certifications, and awards.
Thanks for stopping by to learn more about how we are excelling personally and professionally to deliver quality products and services to our Bobcats.
Almanac staff excellence: Academic and Professional leadership and service
Atkins Fleming, assistant director, Learning Spaces, served on the Board of Directors for the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HETMA), in the fall of 2021. Fleming also serves as the Treasurer, who advocates for the higher education audio-visual (A/V) industry. HETMA plays a large part in the relationships between manufacturers, vendors, and the higher education A/V community.
Lauren Goodley, archivist, served on the 2021 National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) Excellence Awards Committee. Lauren worked with national and international colleagues to solicit, gather, and rate nominations in six award categories, announced at the annual conference in October 2022.
Katie Salzmann, lead archivist, The Wittliff Collections, served as a member of the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) State Partnerships and Outreach Committee. Established by SSA in 2021, the State Partnerships and Outreach Fund helps cover SSA members’ costs when presenting at academic and professional meetings of allied professions and state or regional historical associations’ annual conferences.
Katie Salzmann, lead archivist, The Wittliff Collections, served as a member of the Texas State University Performing Arts Committee. Overall, the committee is comprised of eight faculty members, plus one library representative. The focus of the committee is to bring outstanding artists to the university who will contribute to the development of an appreciation of the arts.
Dr. Carlos Balam Kuk Solís, associate vice president, Technology Innovation Office (TIO), is a board member of the Microsoft Higher Education Customer Advisory Board. Solís attends quarterly meetings to provide feedback and comments on Microsoft services and how those services are being implemented at Texas State University.
Jess Williams, assistant director, Teaching and Learning, served as a member of the First-Generation Proud Committee and Chair of the First-Generation Proud Resources Sub-committee.
Almanac staff excellence: Outreach
Susannah Broyles, project archivist, The Wittliff Collections, presented, “Implementing ArchivesSpace from Start to Finish” at the ArchivesSpace Member Forum held in conjecture with the Society of American Archivists annual meeting, August 2022.
Susannah Broyles, project archivist, and Katie Salzmann, lead archivist, presented, “Implementing ArchivesSpace from start to finish” at the Society of Southwest Archivists conference, May 2022. This presentation provided a high-level overview of a year-long journey migrating from two different platforms; creating a shared style guide and input manual; performing data cleanup; designing the public user interface (including customizing the PDF downloads on the PUI); and finally having the site go live. Broyles and Salzmann discussed their tips, tricks, and things they wished they had known earlier, as well as the next steps.
Steven Davis, literary curator, was the featured author at the Texas Book Festival, November 2021 and the San Antonio Book Festival, May 2022 for the new Wittliff Series book, Viva Texas Rivers!
Rebecca Ormsby, communications specialist, attended the Youth Marketing Strategy event in March 2022. Sessions provided the latest insights, trends, and ideas for marketing to Generation Z and what to expect and prepare for when it comes to the next generation.
Todd Peters, head digital and web services, and Jason Long, programmer analyst, presented “Migration from Dspace to Islandora version 8” at the Texas Conference on Digital Libraries virtual conference, May 2022. This presentation discussed the recent installation of an Islandora 8 repository at Texas State University.
Todd Peters, head digital and web services, and Jason Long, programmer analyst, presented information about machine learning and applicability to generate metadata to enhance discoverability during a pilot project at the virtual Texas Conference on Digital Libraries, May 2022.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the Digital 360 Conference, September 2021. This is a premier event for senior executives driving industry digitalization.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the virtual Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo as a member of the organization, October 2021.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the Educause Annual Conference as a member of the organization, October 2021.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the RTM Higher Education CIO Congress as a member of the organization, November 2021 and April 2022.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the Lonestar Educations and Research Network (LEARN) Board of Directors meeting as a member of the organization, December 2021 and June 2022.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC) Technology Education Conference (TEC) as a member of the organization, March 2022.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the Lonestar Educations and Research Network (LEARN) Strategic Planning Meeting as a member of the organization, April 2022.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology and CIO, attended the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC) Annual Conference as a member of the organization, July-August 2022.
Katie Salzmann, lead archivist, Susannah Broyles, project archivist, and Sherri Turner-Herrmann, hosted an outreach and information booth at the Austin Archives Bazaar, April 2022. The Austin Archives Bazaar is a biannual public outreach event held in Austin, Texas. Representatives from archival repositories are invited to staff an informational booth to engage with members of the community about their institution’s holdings and activities. The event includes a preservation station, an oral history story-telling booth, and “Lightning” talks from archivists representing the various repositories. Katie Salzmann presented on behalf of The Wittliff Collections.
Amanda Scott, library assistant IV, co-presented at the 2021 Coalition for Networked Information Fall Membership Meeting, December 2021. The presentation outlined the group’s work with Linked Data through participation in a Wikidata pilot project.
Dr. Carlos Balam Kuk Solís, associate vice president, Technology Innovation Office (TIO), was invited to participate in RTM roundtables with business and higher education leaders, focusing on challenges facing higher education. Salient in the discussion was the TIO driven initiatives around digital transformation through digital equity and digital inclusion.
Jess Williams, assistant director, Teaching and Learning, presented, “Technology to Stay Relevant” at the 49th Annual Texas TRIO Conference in San Antonio, Texas, February 2022. This session provided information about discovering new tools to improve work, home, and creative lives. The goal was to adopt new technology to decrease mental load, increase energy, and improve connections made with students.
Almanac Staff Excellence: Publications
Kimberly Conner, publications writer, authored “A Face-to-Face Approach to the Online Learning Space.” Conner’s article served as a case study for innovation in synchronous online learning, highlighting the ways in which The Teaching Space of Tomorrow’s blended video studio and faculty office space elevates the online teaching and learning experience. The article was published by EDUCAUSE Review in August 2022.
Kimberly Conner, publications writer, authored “Leveling Up with Bobcat Experience.” Conner’s article describes the university’s implementation of the Ellucian Experience platform to afford students personalized access to campus resources. The article was published in September 2022 by Education Technology Insights.
Steven Davis, literary curator, The Wittliff Collections and Sam L. Pfiester expertly co-edited the Viva Texas Rivers! Adventures, Misadventures and Glimpses of Nirvana Along Our Storied Waterways book by John Graves, which was made available by the Texas A&M University Press, February 2022.
Atkins Fleming, assistant director of Learning Spaces authored the article, “SUPPLY AND DEMANDing Change.” Fleming’s article provided thoughts and tips how higher education institutions should be adapting to the current supply chain shortages, which impact daily operations as well as long-term planning. The article was published in the April 2022 issue of the Higher Ed AV Digital Magazine.
Evan Pickrel, electronic information resources accessibility coordinator, and Kimberly Conner, publications writer, co-authored “Why Every University Needs an Accessible Standard Website Template.” Their article promotes the use of university-wide accessible website templates to avoid common web accessibility errors and promote digital inclusion. The article was published by Campus Technology in August 2022.
Kenneth Pierce, vice president for information technology, co-authored “Content Management System Tools to Enhance Student Learning in Higher Education” with Vanessa Hammler Kenon, associate vice president of technology compliance and community engagement and students, Lisa Sosa and Maegen Fredrickson, at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The article was an investigation examining the importance of the integration tools vital to student retention, academic success, and the efficient movement through the graduation pipeline. The article was published in the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Volume 22 No.8 (2022).
Kristine Toma, university archivist, and Margaret Vaverek, service engagement librarian, co-authored an article about the sculpture titled “Fighting Stallions,” which is a focal point in the Quad on the Texas State University campus. The story of this artwork as a Texas State landmark is the focus of an online exhibit published in June 2022.
Jess Williams, assistant director, and Diana Morganti, librarian, co-authored, “Using Low Code to Automate Public Service Workflows: Three Cases” for The Code4Lib Journal, Issue 52, 2021-09-22. This paper presented cases for using low code solutions in automatic public service problems using the Microsoft Power Automate application.
Jess Williams, assistant director, and Lisa Cruces, librarian, co-authored, “Applied Care Work and Authenticity in Undergraduate Instruction and Outreach,” which was published in the Supporting Your Hispanic Students in Academic Libraries book by Library Juice Press, May 2022.
Jess Williams, assistant director, co-authored, “Subject liaison, hybrid, or functional? Finding the right service model for your library” with Kerry Creelman, head of collection strategies, at the University of Houston Libraries. This journal article addresses the changes to team-based organizational models organized around functions like teaching and learning, research support, and collection strategies. The article was published in the Summer 2022 Digital Texas Library Journal, 98.2.
Almanac staff excellence: Degrees and certifications
Kodi Klemann, audio visual designer, received a Certified Technical Specialist I (CTS), from the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA), May 2022.
Michael O’Connor, senior network administrator, received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems from Texas State University, August 2022.
Angela N. Smith, marketing and promotions coordinator, received a Servant Leadership Certificate from Cornell University, August 2022.
Almanac staff excellence: Awards
Michael Baker, user services consultant II, was selected as the January 2022 Texas State Employee of the Month.
Scott Christensen, coordinator, microcomputer lab III, and Amanda Cerrillo, coordinator, microcomputer lab I, received the University Libraries’ Innovator Award, June 2022.
Karen E. Cowen, electronic resources assistant, and Todd Peters, head digital and web services, received the University Libraries’ Outstanding Leadership Award, June 2022.
Khoi Nguyen, emerging technology supervisor, received the Innovator Award, a grant from Unity Technologies, in the amount of $125,000. The purpose of the grant was to support two graduate students and expand the Unity XR Development workshop. The award was announced in March 2022.
Wendy Thompson, librarian, received the University Libraries’ Employee Excellence Award, June 2022.
The WikiData Pilot Project team received the University Library’s Outstanding Team award, June 2022. Members included:
- Mary Aycock, librarian
- Amy Eoff, library assistant II
- Misty Hopper, administrative librarian
- Amanda Scott, library assistant IV
- Karen Sigler, librarian
- Sheila Torres-Blank, librarian
- Laura Waugh, assistant director and librarian
The Wittliff Collections and University Archives Public User Interface Team received the Texas State University Quarterly Team Award, December 2021. This award was for the extensive year-long project to enter and migrate collections and materials data into a searchable online database. This service is a great asset for researchers around the world who can access resources available at Texas State University.
Team members who took part:
- Susannah Broyles, project archivist
- Nicole Critchley, assistant archivist
- Jason Long, programmer analyst
- Katie Salzman, lead archivist
- Kristine Toma, university archivist