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Hi Joseph, I just had to comment on 3 points from your posts: > >Ok, so you produce a product you charge for and you compete against others for this right. Sorry, but any organization who does that is a BUSINESS. >Since MSU is a business, then shouldn't they actuall think about perhaps acting like a business? Any data that flows across any companies network is considered business property, and as such is not subject to any free speech/freedom of information rules. [snip] > I have no idea which unit(s) you worked for when you were here, but you must not have realized that this statement is *not* true for an academic research institution. What I have gleaned in my time here is that education is different from commercial businesses. The point of education is to provide students with tools to think, problem solve and develop in their discipline of choice. We do teach "nuts and bolts" classes to provide them with basic skills (C++ coding or principles of Economics or human anatomy). But the goal is to turn out thinkers. It isn't particularly important, or even smart, for them to learn everything single detail about Cisco routers or MS Exchange or Juniper firewalls; it is important for them to understand networking principles or security issues -- and then be able to apply that and to be able to continue to learn and develop solutions of their own (more than just reading TechNet each month). Freedom to think includes free speech which includes academic and research email and network, which includes open collaboration with faculty from other institutions. Teaching students how to think in a discipline is not like turning out a commercial product -- we are not spitting out a new car from the assembly line every 10 seconds nor producing the latest radio advertisement for toothpaste. > >However, MUS is NOT made up of multiple little companies, each with a different goal. > [snip] This is absolutely not true. Yes, MSU as a whole does have a common goal to provide an excellent education. But Colleges and Departments have different needs and sub-goals to achieve this. Why? MSU has a vast array of disciplines -- we have over 250 Graduate Programs alone. MSU learned that departments need to have the flexibility to grow in their very different directions in order for their programs to flourish and achieve excellence. I've always heard the various deans say that departments know best what they need for their programs and their research. Forcing unit A to use unit B's IT solution will likely make unit A's programs weaker by causing excellent faculty to leave in search of an institution where they do have the freedom to pursue their discipline as they choose. So MSU allows each College and each Department the freedom to choose how best to build their programs and to decide what services are needed for these programs. Thus, we don't jam the IT solutions used by AIS down Chemistry's throat. We don't force the College of Music to follow the IT model used by the Health Care Colleges. Academic needs are different than administrative needs, which are different from clinical needs, which are vastly different from research needs. And the needs of one research group are vastly different from the needs of a different research group. I have worked in all 4 of these types of units, and have seen this first hand. A colleague of mine used to say that the best way to think of a research department was 16th century Bologna, Italy: each research group is a like a little independent dukedom -- sometimes dukedoms cooperate with each other, but sometimes they go their own way. IMO, that is very true. Yes, this is frustrating for central solutions. Very. Hence, the various discussions on the NAG or at the IT Exchanges. But discussions are healthy and encouraged, as is free thinking (including opinions like yours). IT at MSU is here to serve MSU; not force MSU to change to fit the needs of IT. The freedom, for departments to develop and to grow in very diverse ways, is an absolute strength of MSU and it is highly valued by all academic and research units. > >Microsoft is NOT run by Satan. > [snip] Several MSU departments, like mine, are 99% Microsoft shops running Exchange servers. But I'm not about to say that it the appropriate solution for all 16 Colleges and umpteen Departments. Yes, MSU IT folks have differing opinions regarding what to offer as a central solution. I believe that ATS is doing a great job trying to solve a nasty problem in a way that respects how MSU works. ~ Esther Esther V. V. Reed IT Systems Administrator MSU Graduate School email: [log in to unmask]