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Welcome to the IT Newsletter. Each issue will highlight important updates for our campus community, including the latest on technology, AI, digital accessibility, the network and much more. You’ll find helpful tech tips from our talented team, security advice to keep your accounts safe, and stories about innovation that drive our mission forward.

�鶹�ƽ�� is modernizing its campus network infrastructure through major redundancy and resiliency projects designed to improve reliability and reduce outages. Recent upgrades, including new fiber pathways and plans for a redesigned network architecture, will help create a stronger, more dependable digital foundation for the university community.

On January 15, 2026, �鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology welcomed senior Sam Oliver for a one-day winter externship, offering an inside look at what it’s like to work in higher education IT. 

�鶹�ƽ�� faculty and staff joined campuses around the world on November 18 to take part in Blackboard Ally’s annual Fix Your Content Day, a 24-hour global competition focused on improving the accessibility of digital course materials. By the end of the day, W&M ranked 22nd worldwide and completed more than 1,300 accessibility fixes in just 24 hours. This significant achievement reflects the university’s continued commitment to inclusive teaching and learning.

This fall, �鶹�ƽ�� launched a pilot of ChatGPT Edu, providing select faculty and staff with access to OpenAI’s enterprise-grade artificial intelligence to support learning, research and operations.

In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), �鶹�ƽ�� is proud to unveil its latest initiatives aimed at enhancing digital accessibility for all members of its community. By implementing cutting-edge accessibility features that support visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments, the university is ensuring usability of its digital platforms and demonstrating leading efforts in accessibility among educational institutions.

Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22nd, serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to protect our planet. This year, �鶹�ƽ�� is taking significant strides towards sustainability with its Year of the Environment initiative, underscoring the university's commitment to environmental stewardship. Among the many efforts being made, the contributions of W&M IT are particularly noteworthy.

Jeff Jolly, who has worked in information technology at �鶹�ƽ�� for 24 years, is this year’s winner of the Duke Award for exceptional service.

�鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology has teamed up with the Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation (STLI) to launch a brand new Virtual Reality Lab in Boswell Hall, Room 240. This new space is representative of a dynamic partnership between the IT department and STLI, both supporting academic innovation and the growing W&M eSports program.

Internships are a critical aspect of a �鶹�ƽ�� education. No matter what a student is majoring in, so much can be learned by gaining real-world work experience. W&M Information Technology has a long-standing tradition of welcoming student workers and incorporating them into our overall strategy of providing a reliable, flexible, and secure technological environment that enables swift and skilled solutions for rapidly changing needs.

�鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology has completed a Wi-Fi expansion project in Kaplan Arena, the home of Tribe Athletics and the venue for many high-visibility events, such as the Charter Day ceremony and new student orientation. The project aims to enhance the digital experience of the campus community and visitors by providing reliable and fast wireless internet access in the arena.

Internships are a critical aspect of a �鶹�ƽ�� education. No matter what a student is majoring in, so much can be learned by gaining real-world work experience. W&M Information Technology has a long-standing tradition of welcoming student workers and incorporating them into our overall strategy of providing a reliable, flexible, and secure technological environment that enables swift and skilled solutions for rapidly changing needs.

The first-ever recipient of the CIO Award for Excellence is Anna Jordan. Anna was presented with the award during the Evening for Excellence on April 18, 2024. Learn more about Anna in the Q&A below.

�鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology has recently added Windows Autopilot technology to loaner computers throughout campus. Autopilot is a service that pre-configures computers so that they are ready to be used right out of the box.

Did you know �鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology manages a Service Status webpage to inform the campus community of how the systems are functioning on campus? The site provides visitors with a clear view of the status for each IT service, and will even send you a notification when the services you use the most are down.

"My communications internship with IT solidified my interest in a communications career. Through my internship, I realized my love for solving complex challenges through strategic communications and my interest in identifying authentic ways for organizations to connect with priority audiences."

A project that began over 12 years ago to upgrade, reinforce and modernize the data center has now been realized.

W&M IT’s team of experts work around the clock to keep our community safe online.

W&M Information Technology recently implemented Amazon CloudFront, a content delivery network (CDN) operated by Amazon Web Services that allows W&M to securely deliver data, videos, applications and APIs to website visitors across the globe with low latency and high transfer speeds.

�鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology is comprised of intelligent and hardworking individuals who exemplify the university’s core values of belonging and respect. Our “Did You Know?” series gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on members of our team and introduce others to their work, as well as the unique things that make them tick.

"I learned so much from this internship that I still apply to my career today. I was able to work on problem solving for clients and using resources like Google to my advantage. I still think of this experience as truly invaluable as it taught me so much about working with technology and different people."

�鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology is thrilled to welcome Andrew Crawford as the university’s new Deputy Chief Information Officer. Crawford joins W&M from Christopher Newport University, where he has served as CIO since 2016.

"My internship with W&M IT taught me to take something that is complex and detailed and make it accessible to all. This is the biggest resource that translates to my life now because that is what I do in my job."

Part of W&M Information Technology’s mission is to develop and nurture meaningful relationships and collaborations on campus and beyond. Our work would not be possible without the partnerships we have across campus, and so many of our colleagues deserve a thank you and a (virtual) fist bump!

This spring W&M IT announced a university technology project to move from local storage (H: drives) to Microsoft OneDrive.

Chief Technology Officer Corinne Picataggi aims to empower the community to use technology and be successful 

"Without W&M IT, my graduate program, and experience working with ITPIR (now known as the Global Research Institute), I would not be at my current position at Microsoft. Without these experiences, I may have landed at a less technical job doing work I am not as passionate about."

�鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology is comprised of intelligent and hardworking individuals who exemplify the university’s core values of belonging and respect. Our “Did You Know?” series gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on members of our team and introduce others to their work, as well as the unique things that make them tick.

Part of W&M IT's mission is to develop and nurture meaningful relationships and collaborations on campus and beyond. Our work would not be possible without the partnerships we have across campus, and so many of our colleagues deserve a thank you and a (virtual) fist bump!

In February, �鶹�ƽ�� Information Technology will bid farewell to longtime leader and friend of the university, Berni Kenney.

W&M IT is comprised of intelligent and hardworking individuals who exemplify the university’s core values of belonging and respect. Our “Did You Know?” series gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on members of our team and introduce others to their work, as well as the unique things that make them tick.

"There are many aspects of my career in patient healthcare that mirror those in IT customer service, including strong interpersonal skills, effective communication of technical details, problem solving and doing this all as part of a team."

�鶹�ƽ�� Business Services & Organizational Excellence (BSOE) has teamed up with W&M Information Technology to find a way to use data-collection software to understand how our community uses campus buildings.

W&M Information Technology’s Patty Herrera Cox and Nick Artime have been named Diversity Champions by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion.

While most undergraduates rely on the work of W&M IT in some way for their research projects, the students who rely most heavily on our team's expertise have been those involved with the Geospatial Evaluation and Observation Lab (geoLab).

Throughout the month of March, W&M Information Technology will be celebrating Women’s History Month by shining a spotlight on some of the ladies who keep the department and the university connected using the latest technology.

Throughout the month of March, W&M Information Technology will be celebrating Women’s History Month by shining a spotlight on some of the ladies who keep the department and the university connected using the latest technology.

Throughout the month of March, W&M Information Technology will be celebrating Women’s History Month by shining a spotlight on some of the ladies who keep the department and the university connected using the latest technology.

Throughout the month of March, W&M Information Technology will be celebrating Women’s History Month by shining a spotlight on some of the ladies who keep the department and the university connected using the latest technology.

The university?announced this?fall?that Barbara O. Forth would become �鶹�ƽ��'s inaugural Chief Data Officer.

The university has come together to build a new "one-stop shop" procurement system called buyW&M.

In recognition of exemplary values-driven leadership, four �鶹�ƽ�� faculty and staff members have been selected as the inaugural recipients of the Values in Action Award: Natoya Haskins Ph.D. ’11 (School of Education), Mariellynn Maurer '95 (Conference Services), Kathleen Mazzitti (Advancement) and Corinne Picataggi (Information Technology).

�鶹�ƽ��’s Esports Training and Research Center will include a research lab and training facility designed to foster interdisciplinary collaborations around gaming.

An interdisciplinary group of faculty, students, and staff has collaborated to bring esports to �鶹�ƽ��.

Edward Aractingi has been selected as �鶹�ƽ��’s next chief information officer and will begin at the university June 10.

DocuSign eliminates the need for redundant data entry and forms can be easily be routed to their final destination.

Duo, a two-factor authentication system, will be employed at �鶹�ƽ�� to bring an extra layer of security to sensitive accounts.

It has been 20 years since November 1997 when W&M IT was officially formed. We spent the past month collecting memories and sharing stories about how IT has changed over the past 20 years.

With computing capacity expected to increase by 100 times in less than a decade, W&M Professor Gene Roche is contemplating a drastically changed job landscape and how education can better prepare the future workforce.

W&M IT helped the School of Education launch a fully online, partially synchronous course program for the School of Ed's Educational Program Policy and Leadership (EPPL) program.

W&M IT is taking on a new role in construction projects on campus.

Whether or not you realize it, IT works to keep things running smoothly every day in the lives of W&M students.

IT works behind the scenes at any broadcasted home athletic event. Take a look at what we do for a home football game.

Like a detective, you must find clues to keep your Inbox safe from phishing.

W&M laptops will help students in rural Ghana go to college.

What's all this maintenance about anyway? Unix Engineer, Dan Ewart, explains.