New building to unify UITS staff, official says

The University Information Technology Services’ new Cyberinfrastructure building, currently under construction at 10th Street and S.R. 45/46, is the newest building in IU’s developing Technology Park.

It is also one of several projects that falls under the $100 million spent by IU on major construction projects this academic year.

The new building is scheduled to be completed in May 2011 and will be the core of the tech park. It will also provide a base for the UITS staff.

UITS staff and administrators are currently spread out across a number of locations throughout IU. The new building will allow the staff to work together and collaborate in one consolidated building.

“I have colleges that I’ve worked with for five years that I’ve never shared a building with,” said UITS employee Jacob Farmer. “With the new location, a large number of the staff will be able to relocate into the same building.”

Paul Sullivan, deputy vice president of capital projects and facilities, said by putting the UITS staff together they can become more effective and efficient.

“They really feel that it’s important that they get together in one location so that the communication is better and coordination is better,” Sullivan said.

Vice President for Information Technology Bradley Wheeler said the staff that will work in the Cyberinfrastructure building will be able to communicate more effectively.

“The more that we can pull people together, so they bump into each other, and they can trade ideas, so that it’s easier to communicate, it helps the whole university run much more efficiently,” Wheeler said.

UITS employs a large number of IU students who work part-time, and some end up rising through the ranks of the organization, Wheeler said.

The new building would provide a channel for more students to work in the technology field.

“I’m really proud that we’ve developed and continue to help build our strong pipeline of technology jobs for students,” Wheeler said.