The Faculty Senate discussed the strengths and weaknesses of Eastern’s Information Technology Services at its meeting Tuesday.

Senate members spoke by teleconference with Geoff Wold of the Lurie Besikof Lapidus and Co. consulting firm.

Eastern hired LBL to conduct an online survey of faculty and staff on their experiences with ITS, Wold said.

“We want to be able to identify the strengths of ITS,” Wold said. “We want to identify any areas that need improvement. If there are any teaching needs that haven’t been met . we want to identify that, too.”

Senate members told Wold some members of the ITS staff are more qualified than others.

“There is a real dichotomy in quality control,” said senate member John Stimec. “There are several staff at the help desk that are very adept at what they do . there are others that are not as adept.”

Senate chair John Pommier commended ITS for communicating with faculty, staff and students.

“There’s a real strong sense that we are involved in this process (of maintaining technology) because we are informed,” Pommier said. “There was a sense that “we’re getting it straight.”

Stimec also said he was concerned that the online survey LBL distributed to faculty and staff was not confidential and that responses could be traced back to individual responders.

Jeff Cooley, business affairs vice president, said university administrators wanted the responses to be traceable so ITS could respond to the problems listed.

“If someone has a definite problem, we need some way to get back to them and help fix those problems,” Cooley said, adding that the university did not want to discourage negative responses.

Cooley, along with Gary Reed, director of facilities planning and management, also spoke to the senate about efforts to make Eastern’s campus more environmentally friendly.

“The university has received both state and national recognition for what we do here through our recycling program and through our efforts at energy conservation,” Cooley said.

Reed said Eastern’s proposed Renewable Energy Center would improve the university’s energy efficiency and would reduce emissions by replacing the current coal-fired plant.

Though President Bill Perry put plans for the plant on hold last month, Reed said the university is still committed to building the energy center.

“(Perry) is still committed to the project,” Reed said. “During January, we’re going to make some design changes.”

The university will take those changes to Charleston residents in January, Reed said.

Faculty Senate also presented Cooley, who will retire Dec. 31, with a framed senate resolution in his honor during the meeting.

“We are doing a search right now, but there is no way we can replace you,” Pommier told Cooley. “(Cooley) wants to serve, and he serves everyone so well.”

Joe Astrouski can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmastrouski@eiu.edu.

Faculty Senate members listen to a conference call from Geoff Wold of the Lurie Besikof Lapidus and Co. consulting firm Tuesday afternoon in Booth Library. (Amir Prellberg/The Daily Eastern News)

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