Computing center dir. leaves U. for job at Yale

After six-and-a-half years of playing an integral role in the University's computing and technological development, Data Communications and Computing Services Executive Director Dan Updegrove is leaving the department. Beginning May 1, he will become Yale University's director of Information Technology. Updegrove, who also serves as the associate vice provost of Information Systems and Computing, has been involved in almost every Internet-related innovations at the University. But he said his biggest accomplishment involved the development of ResNet and "getting the dorms wired." When he and his colleagues first began the project in December of 1992, "we knew it was big, we knew it was ambitious," Updegrove recalled. But they also felt the project was urgent because it could provide proper computing resources for the entire student body, while also keeping the University at competitive. "It's been an incredibly fast six-and-a-half years," Updegrove said, reflecting on his tenure at the University. The fast-paced changes Updegrove witnessed have occurred both at the University and with regard to the entire Internet, which went from the workplace of "techies to a mass market." "I've never been bored for 15 minutes," Updegrove added, noting that new opportunities or problems always seemed to arise. He said "one of the real pleasures of my job" involved working with students. "The most disappointing thing has been the occasional lapses in civility on the Internet," he noted, adding that some people do not "understand that there are human beings on the other end of the line." Updegrove said he and the other employees of DCCS have lost much time and energy responding to pranks and other Internet "misbehavior." But despite the occasional negatives associated with recent technological advances, Updegrove said he looks forward to the future of his work. Looking back, however, he noted that the University will be able to stay on top of whatever happens "because of the work done in the last five years." On a more personal note, Updegrove said he will "very much miss the friends and colleagues," he has worked with in his time at the University. But he said that one of the advantages of his work is that he can "keep in touch on the [World Wide] Web." Updegrove said he has especially enjoyed being a part of community outreach programs in Philadelphia involving increasing access to the Internet for local schools and public libraries. Updegrove's new position will allow him to lead approximately 250 people in "building infrastructure and providing computing and network services." "We're sorry to see him go," Information Systems and Computing Interim Vice Provost James O'Donnell said last night, adding that Updegrove's "passion and zeal" may be the "hardest part of him to replace." "He's pretty amazing," said Ira Winston, executive director of computing for both the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. "There would be no ResNet, except for Dan." Updegrove noted that the impact of Internet accessibility and the e-mail account availability is widely felt. "If you can't imagine life without the 'net, then I've succeeded," he said.