Academic Information Technology Committee (ACITC)
Meeting Minutes
October 31, 2008
DRAFT
Attending: Steven Lazarus (COE), Kurt Winkelmann (COS), Bill Allen (COE), Marcus Hohlmann
(COS), Linda Khan (Library), Rhoda Baggs (UC), Jason Ball (IT), Thomas Harrell (COP), Judy Barlow
(COB), Sharon Ainsley (Web)
Meeting was called to order at 3:30 pm.
Minutes for September 26, 2008 were amended to indicate that the Library was looking at obtaining
funding from IT for the purchase RefWorks and not as a collaborative effort between the two
departments. The minutes were approved with the above changes.
Dr. Newman presented information on HPC (High Performance Computing). A HPC Advisory Council
has been formed to discuss issues and opportunities. The council is made up of faculty in various
departments with involvement in HPC for research and some instructional interest. The priority for the
council is to generate a strong case for the appropriate technical staff at the university wide level. Dr.
Newman indicated some resources are available from outside the university at the state level through the
Florida LambdaRail, at the regional level through SURA and the national level through specialized
organizations. The HPC Advisory Council has a meeting tentatively set for November. More
information will be provided as it becomes available.
Sharon Ainsley indicated there will be a new web server and content management in place expected by
the end of the year. A list of sites being migrated to the new site was reviewed. Questions were raised as
to the ease of updating content with the new content management. It was indicated based on the controls
in place editable regions will be very easy to update while others would have to put in a request and
would be reviewed and a recommendation made as to the area requested being edited. Josh Culver has
moved from UPUBS to the IT Web Services Department to improve services and have one web
department. A new Web Advisory Committee has been established. Rhoda Baggs and Thom Harrell
have volunteered to be members of the Web Advisory Committee.
Dr. Stackpoole was introduced to the committee as the Sr. Vice President for Advancement. He was
invited as a guest to discuss possibilities for ACITC fundraising and funding for individual and small
projects. Dr. Stackpoole indicated there are numerous opportunities and all possibilities should be
included. Case statements can be submitted to the Advancement Office.
Curtis Robinson addressed the committee regarding issues with the current Bluemarlin cluster. The
system has 48 nodes and is over 5 years old and new technology has eclipsed its current use. The current
system is not capable for research use. Also there are issues with support for the system. The system
currently uses $5k per month for electricity and $7k per year for licensing requirements including the cost
of daily maintenance. There have been no software updates to the system. It was noted there is only
minimal usage. With the issues Curtis asked for a recommendation as to what to do about the system.
Replacement clusters have been researched including commercial cloud computing as well as other
services including SURA and open science grids. The committee would like to have information
researched on a replacement for the system. It was recommended to maintain the system for those who
use until it becomes obsolete and develop a timeline based on a transitional machine for the current users.
ACITC
Meeting Minutes
October 31, 2008
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A formal proposal will be made to the ITEC Committee for $5k increase in funds for the minigrant
awards.
Subcommittees
Minigrants
The committee has agreed on the requirements and cycle for submission and review. New outside
members include Joel Olsen, Veronica Giguere and LuAnn Bean Mangold. The Faculty Showcase is
scheduled for February 5th in the Hartley Room.
Resources
No report.
Teaching & Learning
No report.
Committee Reports
ADITC – Dr. Bonhomme
No report.
ITEC & IT – Jason Ball
Jason presented information as to a recent survey regarding student email and outsourcing and
implementation. 660 students responded to the survey. Results were reviewed. Currently there are 8
servers to handle email. Outsourcing to either gmail or hotmail was discussed. Questions were raised to
any delay in receiving or sending mail, intellectual property, size limits on attachments and privacy
encryption data (pgp). Jason indicated all email addresses will have @fit.edu, there should be no delay in
either sending or receiving mail, and the size limit on attachments is currently 5Gb and should not have a
limit with the outsourced accounts.
Other Business
Linda indicated the Library has purchased RefWorks in response to interest in the product.
The next meeting will be held on November 21st at 3:30 pm.
There was no other business and the meeting was adjourned at 4:44 pm.
ACITC
Meeting Minutes
October 31, 2008
2