Category Archives: AI

Agent Agency

AI, Thoughts, ,

Last week was an eye-opening one on a few levels. I spent time with CIO colleagues from various schools around the Country and State at the Dell Higher Education Advisory Board meeting. The first thing I will say is that spending time with people I know and respect in our field is always a powerful opportunity to learn and measure how we are approaching our common problems of practice. The other thing I will say is that it is becoming even more clear that people outside of higher education don’t seem to fully understand what the role of a CIO or IT in general looks like in our context. It isn’t that our corporate partners don’t have a sense of what we think about, but there is a whole other side to what we do that seems to be hidden from them.

As a CIO of an R1 university, I do think about teaching and learning quite a bit, but it isn’t what the job is fully about. We spend a lot of our time working toward making every single aspect of campus life more effective, delightful, and efficient. That means, that while teaching, learning, and research are core areas of focus, we also spend a great deal of time working across various businesses to drive impact and outcomes. Universities are small cities with everything from power generation, police forces, critical systems, and everything in between to be concerned about. What we need as higher education CIOs are stories and examples of how our multi-national corporate colleagues run their lines of businesses that we can translate.

The Dell team talked a lot about the rise and potential of agentic AI. While many of the examples were focused on the educational sphere — curriculum creation, assessment, study partners, etc — things got much more interesting when a few of us pulled our colleagues aside and told them we were just as interested in how they and their clients are using them across local and state government, corporate sectors, retail, finance, construction, and others. Once they started to show us real life examples of how they are applying these types of strategies in those contexts, my mind was racing with ideas of how we could alter their corporate solutions and apply it to the higher education landscape.

Agentic AI, refers to AI systems capable of autonomous decision-making and actions, can be a game-changer in various aspects of university operations. Imagine AI-driven systems that can self-manage administrative tasks, optimize resource allocation, and even create automated decision support systems. Agents can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and make informed decisions, freeing up human resources to focus on more strategic and creative endeavors.

I personally believe that one of the most promising applications of agentic AI in universities is in the realm of administrative efficiency. AI can streamline university communications, fund-raising, energy management, construction, housing and dining, and financial management. For instance, AI-driven systems can autonomously manage and optimize campus-wide energy usage, significantly reducing costs and improving sustainability. Similarly, AI can automate and enhance the efficiency of student housing allocation, ensuring that space is utilized optimally, and students’ preferences are considered. I firmly believe that once we make the move into this arena, we will be applying agentic AI in ways that can reduce the personal load associated with many of the ongoing administrative challenges we deal with every single day. In your ongoing learning with AI, what are you seeing as the primary opportunities to bring agentic AI into our own operations?

Living the Digital Transformation We Preach

AI, Digital Dexterity, SLT, Thoughts, UTET, , ,

As the IT leaders at UT Austin, we spend a lot of time talking about digital transformation. We encourage campus to embrace modern tools, work smarter, and take advantage of the technology investments we’ve made. But here’s the real question, are we practicing what we preach? If we want to lead the university into a more digital, connected, and efficient future, we need to start with ourselves. We need to live in the environment we’re asking others to adopt, not dismiss it, not just support it, but fully commit to it.

Right now, we’re operating in a fragmented digital world. Some teams use Slack, others use Teams. Files are scattered across OneDrive, SharePoint, Box, Wikis, and more. Some meetings are on Zoom, others on Teams. We are juggling platforms when we could be harnessing the power of our enterprise-supported ecosystem and putting Copilot to work for us.

When groups on campus reach out for help improving their digital workflows, we should be the experts they turn to. But how can we do that if we aren’t fully invested ourselves? If we don’t know Teams inside and out, how can we teach others to maximize it? If we’re not using OneDrive and SharePoint to store our work, how can we expect others to move away from Box? This isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about leadership. The best way to drive change across campus is to lean into the change. And imagine the stories we can share with the community as we do!

Here’s our challenge, we need to standardize our own workflows before we can credibly push others to do the same.

  • Teams over Slack. All our internal communications should happen on Teams—chats, channels, file sharing, and collaboration. We can’t ask campus to make the switch if we haven’t fully embraced it.
  • OneDrive & SharePoint over Box. Moving documents to a single, integrated storage platform makes collaboration easier and security more resilient. I am not talking about engineering new workflows that support campus operations, I am primarily concerned with our internal workflows.
  • Teams Meetings over Zoom. We already have a robust, enterprise-supported meeting platform in Teams. It integrates with our calendars, our files, and our workflows. Let’s stop defaulting to Zoom when Teams can do the job. I completely understand that incoming meetings are often up to the organizer, but once we can start to show value in the automation that Copilot in Teams meetings provide, we have a reason for other groups on campus to make the change.
  • Microsoft Forms over Qualtrics. I am honestly tired of responding to basic questions using our most powerful enterprise survey tool. MS Forms should be used for all lightweight data collection.
  • AI & Automation with Copilot. Microsoft Copilot is already here, and it should be changing the way we work. But we won’t understand its full impact unless we actively use it. How can AI streamline our daily tasks? What reports, emails, and meetings can we automate? The only way to know is to test, learn, and apply. The SLT has decided that we are providing M365 Copilot to the entire organization.

I want to be clear, every time we use tools outside our enterprise systems, we create more work, more risk, and more fragmentation. We make it harder to secure data, harder to collaborate, and harder to support the very systems we advocate for. If we want campus to streamline their tech stack, we have to start with our own teams. That means cutting out redundant tools and fully investing in M365, not just because we’re told to, but because it makes our work more effective.

Digital transformation isn’t just about technology, it’s a cultural shift. It’s about building habits that make work easier, faster, and more connected. But culture change starts with us. I am asking us to set the example.

I want us to create a comprehensive plan for making this the new normal within Enterprise Technology. I know who some of the people are who can help lead this, but I am actively looking for people who can help and will take some responsibility in leading this.

OpenAI generated image showing people working together in a UT themed room.

Image created by OpenAI.

Change for Progress.

AI, Thoughts, UTET, , ,

The history of IT here at UT is something I am still learning. Great decisions we made at the time often look foolish by today’s metrics. At the time we made a specific decision, we were certainly looking into the future and often betting that the legacy approach would work out or the shiny new thing that is replacing legacy is the best move.

When we invested in Box as a cloud storage solution the rest of the world was playing catch up to the ideas of what a cloud storage solution would even mean to them. We were ahead of the curve. But did we choose the right pony in that race? At the time of the decision, yes! Now, with the rise of Microsoft’s integrated approach to collaboration, the idea of a disconnected storage solution seems almost quaint by comparison, a more modern mechanical Turk of the file cabinet age. We now live in a world where the promise of AI and modern collaboration approaches have started to take root, our decision looks like it was shortsighted — even though at the time it put us in front of many.

So, what should we do? How do we convince the community that this is the right time to make the shift? How do we depreciate something that has existed as a stable practice for so many years? Even if we forget the whole community for a moment, convincing our own teams to make the move is complex.

Illustration of moving data from one box to another.

I think there are compelling reasons for us to attack this. The first is simple — we must model the right behavior. The transition from Box to SharePoint for organizational data storage is not just a technical upgrade; it’s a strategic move that can significantly enhance our operational efficiency. The primary driver behind this shift is the greater adoption of M365 Copilot across campus, which promises to advance the way we work by leveraging the full potential of the integrated suite of tools.

One of the most compelling reasons to make this move is the seamless integration that SharePoint offers with the rest of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Unlike Box, which operates as a standalone solution, SharePoint is designed to work in harmony with tools like Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive. This integration means that our data is not siloed in separate applications but is instead part of a cohesive, interconnected environment. This interconnectedness is where M365 Copilot truly shines, as it can access and analyze data across all these platforms to provide insights and automate tasks that would otherwise require manual effort.

For people, this means less time spent switching between applications and more time focused on meaningful work. Imagine a scenario where you need to prepare a report for a meeting. With Box, you might have to manually gather data from various sources, but with SharePoint and M365 Copilot, the data is already at your fingertips, ready to be synthesized and presented. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of errors and ensures that everyone is working with the most up-to-date information.

For entire workgroups, the benefits are even more pronounced. SharePoint’s collaboration features allow teams to work together more effectively, regardless of their physical location — a key for us. Documents can be co-authored in real-time, feedback can be provided instantly, and version control ensures that everyone is always on the same page. M365 Copilot enhances this collaboration by providing intelligent suggestions and automating routine tasks, freeing up team members to focus on strategic initiatives.

Moreover, SharePoint’s advanced security features provide peace of mind that our data is protected. With built-in compliance tools and the ability to set granular permissions, we can ensure that sensitive information is only accessible to those who need it. This level of security is crucial in today’s environment, where data breaches can have severe consequences snd ther atack vectors are at an all time high.

The move to SharePoint is not just about adopting new technology; it’s about embracing a new way of working that prioritizes efficiency, collaboration, and security. By making this transition, we position ourselves to take full advantage of M365 Copilot’s capabilities, driving operational efficiency and enabling us to achieve our organizational goals more effectively. Let’s lead this transformation and leverage the power of our investments to propel our organization forward.

Moving forward together on this transition to SharePoint will require a collective effort and a commitment to learning and growth. To ensure a smooth and successful migration, we will offer comprehensive training and guidance to all our teams. This will include hands-on workshops, detailed tutorials, and ongoing support to help everyone get comfortable with the new system. This added layer of growth will allow our team to fully leverage the capabilities of SharePoint and M365 Copilot, ensuring that they feel confident and supported throughout the transition. Together, we can embrace this change and unlock new levels of productivity and collaboration within our organization. Let’s take this journey together and make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead and in the process, we will lead campus into this future.

From Connection to Transformation

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If I allow myself to think back a couple of years, the shift happened over the course of that first real year of the pandemic. What started in the spring of 2020, shifted into high gear that summer — those of us who have been leading the charge for the use of technology in teaching and learning had our moment. It wasn’t how we imagined it would arrive, but it happened none the less. Everyone was forced to rapidly adopt technology just to keep the wheels turning. What was amazing was how quickly everyone just did what was needed with a relatively open mind.

The pandemic forced us to implement the world we had been imagining for a couple of decades overnight. In those uncertain times, technology became the lifeline, connecting educators and learners from their homes to virtual classrooms. Tools like Zoom, Teams, and Canvas weren’t just platforms; they were bridges that sustained education when in-person learning was impossible. I’m not sure we got to what we had hoped for all those years, but the need was obvious, and the focus was clear: connection.

In the earliest days of the pandemic, we did some “social listening” across the country and what we learned was that during that first spring semester, students were both terrified of what was happening from a health perspective, but also they were mourning the lack of real world connectedness to get the work of being a student completed.

While we worked to answer questions, how do we ensure students stay engaged, teachers can deliver lessons, and institutions continue functioning in a world suddenly upended? What we really sought to do was build meaningful connections, so everyone felt more supported and hopefully engaged.

Fast forward a few years, and the narrative has shifted. While the need for connection remains real, the emphasis today seems to be shifting toward personal productivity, efficiency, and enhanced learning. The same tools we forced into service to overcome the lack of connection and that kept us afloat are now evolving into catalysts for transformation.

Take artificial intelligence, for example. During the pandemic, technology primarily enabled remote access to education. Today, tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are driving the post pandemic shifts we are watching. They’re not just supporting education—they’re reshaping it. Consider the shift in how meetings are held, content is created, and progress is tracked automatically through AI meeting participants. In 2020, the priority was getting people into virtual rooms. In 2024, faculty and students alike are turning to AI in ways that I am not sure would have been possible without the 18-month technology adoption crash course that the pandemic provided.

We are seeing it in how learning tools are struggling to remain relevant in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on AI. Video conferencing tools are now paired with real-time collaboration software and AI-powered insights. Classrooms can no longer be just good at organizing students and connecting people; they need to inspire innovation and bring an extra layer of intelligence to the discussion. If these tools are placed into the learning environment in an appropriate way, they become an active participant in the teaching and learning environment. The rooms can take notes, provide additional context, record key thoughts, and be the scribe while active learning can take place. We wouldn’t have gotten to this level of thinking without the adoption efforts and the open-mindedness toward technology that emerged during the pandemic.

The journey from connection to transformation underscores the immense potential of technology to accelerate the transformation of teaching and learning. For someone like me, this is one of the most exciting moments of my career, and I am excited to be here for it.

Mid Century UT Enterprise Technology

AI, UTET,

I am not sure what it is about the UT brand that makes me think about the mid-century modern aesthetic. Maybe it is the overall color palette, or some of the rooms I have seen while working in Main. Whatever it happens to be, I really like the vibe of these images that I generated while working on a presentation. I needed some images that spoke to the overall scale of our work and for some reason the AI chose to zero in on this look. I used DALL•E to describe a bunch of styles, but when I stumbled onto this look and feel, I asked it to make one for each part of our org. I love the Mad Men vibe that some of them throw off.