Franklin IT director focuses on serving and supporting

Beth Woods seeks out resourceful methods to even further the college’s missions

For Beth Woods and her crew, data technology goes further than coding and servers.

In actuality, they made certain extra than 300 school rooms had been completely ready for the two in-human being and virtual mastering in August.

“Everyone came together to obtain a resolution that was charge-helpful, that satisfied the demands of faculty and pupils, and that we could roll out both internally or with a seller,” mentioned Woods, government director for IT in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “It was certainly a crew effort I’ve never ever noticed something like it.”

Woods got her bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott University and then moved to Athens to go after her master’s degree in tutorial technology—and afterwards a doctorate in discovering, structure, and technology—in UGA’s Mary Frances Early Higher education of Education and learning. She then worked in equally general public and private K-12 educational facilities for various a long time as a classroom instructor and instructional technologist ahead of taking a place in the College of Family members and Shopper Sciences in 2008. In 2010, she shifted to Franklin College and has been there because then.

Woods admits that her job route was a bit indirect. When she began her undergraduate research, she considered she could go into mechanical or aerospace engineering and studied physics. She made a decision that wasn’t for her and ended up finding a 2nd bachelor’s degree in new music. It was via an internship operating with a area audiovisual technology consulting enterprise that she was introduced to the instructional engineering field. That led to a pupil worker occupation that she beloved and cemented her career path.

Tutorial technology and data engineering are equivalent and unique, Woods mentioned. Information and facts know-how is the foundational element that supports instructional technological know-how, which is “the idea and apply of design, advancement, utilization, management and analysis of processes and means for finding out,” in accordance to the Association for Educational Communications and Technologies. The fields are related in that they the two need technical issue-fixing and client support competencies and support individuals experience supported.

Her recent posture is the great mix of each fields—and her really like of arts and sciences.

“There is no lack of prospects to discover a lot more,” she stated. “What I seriously appreciate is doing work with persons and supporting them discover new chances or a new way.”

When primary an IT team for a university as significant and varied as Franklin, Woods claimed it is normally additional about the interactions than it is the technological know-how. Even nevertheless Franklin College or university consists of vastly unique fields of review, the equipment they use have similarities. So, her team creates providers that span across all of those tutorial divisions, and they are encouraged to seek out out training options in specialised locations and new technologies to aid the one of a kind desires of departments. This innovative operate is normally accomplished in partnership with school collaborators whose study and training drive technological innovation use.

“What we can all come collectively all-around is coming up with innovative answers, approaching them from distinctive angles,” she claimed.

Woods’ involvement at UGA extends further than her place. She signifies Franklin College or university on UGA’s Employees Council, now serving as parliamentarian and using the purpose of vice president on July 1. She also sits on the University Council’s strategic planning committee and has had an energetic role on the ad hoc COVID-19 Reaction Committee.

“I was fascinated in supporting guarantee that staff have a voice and a seat at the desk and that they’re contributing to alternatives presented at the university,” she said.

Woods aided expand Franklin College’s illustration on Staff members Council, heading from a person to three seats. She’s also operating towards making a Staff Representative Group—the governance overall body at the university, school or vice presidential unit stage that immediately elects users to the Workers Council—for Franklin Faculty.

In addition to a Franklin University SRG, Woods works with her team and campus colleagues to foster a numerous and inclusive get the job done ecosystem. She desires to really encourage much more females to get associated in IT and go after leadership roles at all ranges. She also needs all team users to know what options are readily available to them and explained that Staff members Council is a good resource for that. In her own higher education, she’s assisting put into action Franklin Will work, an initiative created to enhance career paths and skilled enhancement aid for staff whilst maximizing service and aid for departments.

Outdoors of UGA, Woods is an avid supporter of the GymDogs and enjoys shelling out time with her household, together with her pet dog, and time outside climbing and gardening. She’s doing work on what she calls her “Life Listing,” instead than her bucket listing, which includes viewing a whale in the ocean, browsing each of the nationwide parks, touching an elephant and touring to international locations she has not been just to observe what lifetime is like there.

In accordance to Woods, she’s performing hard now to love all those opportunities later. In the meantime, she’s earning the most of her situation.

“Everything I do is in help of my group and my university,” Woods said. “It’s not about currently being out entrance or remaining significant. It is not about me. It’s about assisting pupils, serving to the university and helping other people.”