{"id":4902,"date":"2018-04-02T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T16:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/?p=4902"},"modified":"2018-04-05T09:55:18","modified_gmt":"2018-04-05T13:55:18","slug":"who-is-that-series-introducing-joel-cooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/2018\/04\/02\/who-is-that-series-introducing-joel-cooper\/","title":{"rendered":"“Who Is That?” Series: Introducing Joel Cooper"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Joel Cooper, CITO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The \u201cWho Is That?\u201d series gives you insight into who we are here in the ITS department with a series of traditional and non-traditional interview questions.<\/p>\n

Wrapping up: From our last post with Mark CJ Davis, Jr., Manager of Desktop Systems, he lied to us about being a professional dancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, we meet and learn about Joel Cooper (JC).<\/p>\n

Interviewer (I): What year did you start working at Swarthmore?<\/p>\n

JC:\u00a02013. Early February.<\/p>\n

I:\u00a0What are the biggest changes you’ve seen since you started working in higher education technology?<\/p>\n

JC:\u00a0Everything has changed, and the changes are coming with increasing frequency!<\/p>\n

I started my career in higher education IT at UT-Austin in 1985 as what we now call an academic technologist. My desktop device was a VT52 computer terminal<\/a>, and two weeks after I started my job I was given a brand new 128K Macintosh. There was no computer network of any kind, just terminal connections to mainframe computers. I started learning about the technology tools at my fingertips and other resources near at hand. UT-Austin was connected to the ARPANET<\/a> (the predecessor of the Internet) and BITNET<\/a> (an IBM mainframe equivalent of the Internet, now extinct). The doors were all wide open for me to learn…<\/p>\n

Through my career I’ve witnessed the explosion of microcomputers\/desktop computers, the development and deployment of university data networks, the growth of the Internet, the invention and explosion of the World Wide Web, and so many other innovations in academic technology and administrative information systems.<\/p>\n

I: There were a lot of acronyms in\u00a0those Wikipedia articles.<\/p>\n

I:\u00a0Are there any\u00a0standout moments where you could point to a particular device or service really changing the game?<\/p>\n

JC:\u00a0I remember clearly when iPods showed up and the campus went silent (no more 300 watt-per-channel stereos in residence halls blasting music out the windows).\u00a0 And lately the move of so many information systems we depend on (think G Suite for Education) to the cloud, and now the Internet of Things (examples here on campus include our Internet of Doors\/door access system and Cunningham Parking Lot which is on the network). Oh, and I forgot to mention smartphones!<\/p>\n

OK, this is making me feel old….<\/p>\n

I: Let’s change things up, then.\u00a0\u00a0Your title is Chief Information Technology Officer, but have you ever had to describe your job in haiku (5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables)?<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: No.<\/p>\n

I:\u00a0Would you, please?<\/span><\/p>\n

JC:\u00a0Okay, here are three:<\/p>\n

Leader of the band
\nFostering innovation
\nWith awesome people<\/p>\n

Reliable tech
\nFair winds moving us forward
\nI help steer the boat<\/p>\n

One song many parts
\nITS the orchestra
\nI hold the baton<\/p>\n

I: The Writing Center<\/a>
\nDo they know of your prowess?
\nPoet at the helm!<\/p>\n

I: Also, in your last haiku,\u00a0we wanted to make sure that people read ITS as I-T-S so the syllables work out correctly.\u00a0 Otherwise, it’s “its,” which causes us to come up two syllables short on the haiku.\u00a0\u00a0You also just forced me to explain the difference between ITS, it’s, and its.\u00a0 So that’s something.<\/p>\n

JC: *flips table*<\/p>\n

I: Ahem, sorry about that.<\/p>\n

I:\u00a0Is there a particular piece of technology or service you’re excited for the campus to know about?<\/p>\n

JC:\u00a0Great question! A new piece of technology ITS began installing widely last summer in classrooms and conference rooms is the Mersive Solstice<\/a>. It enables just about any device to connect to the Solstice and data projector or flat screen TV connected to it and allows you to share your screen. No more cables, all you need is a web browser to connect. Students can easily share their screens in classes, faculty can show slides from an iPad or smartphone. I think it’s a transformative technology that’s just starting to catch on and I’m excited to see what will happen at Swarthmore when it really takes off.<\/p>\n

I:\u00a0Is there a particular piece of technology you are excited about outside of work?<\/p>\n

JC:\u00a0I always like to check out the “back of the house” at concerts and festivals. Sound mixing boards, lighting control systems, stage sound, house sound. Lots of equipment, power and sound cabling, electronics — major cool factor for me. I am also fortunate enough to have spent time in several recording studios — always a blast.\u00a0 Here’s a picture:<\/p>\n

\"\"
Wires and cables in the back of music equipment that Joel Cooper is fascinated by.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I:\u00a0Please write two truths and one lie in any order below. We’ll reveal your lie on the next blog post.<\/p>\n

JC:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I’m an ice fisherman<\/li>\n
  2. I’m a runner<\/li>\n
  3. I’m the only one in my family that doesn’t rock climb<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I:\u00a0I’ve heard that ITS is a very musical department and you’re one of the musicians. Mind sharing a bit more about any projects you are or have been a part of?<\/p>\n

    JC:\u00a0I’m primarily a bass player but I also play a bit of guitar, harmonica, and tin whistle, and do backing vocals. I’ve played in a lot of bands (no jazz, no country, no punk, pretty much everything else) and have written a couple songs. The longest lived band is still going strong: Kennedy’s Kitchen, an Irish band based in South Bend, IN (I am a founding member). I still show up every now and then and sit in at a gig.<\/p>\n

    I:\u00a0What are your feelings on the Oxford Comma\/serial comma?<\/span><\/p>\n

    JC:\u00a0I’m a consistent, unswerving, and enthusiastic user.<\/p>\n

    I: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA<\/p>\n

    I:\u00a0What is something you wish folks on campus knew about your job or about the ITS Department?<\/p>\n

    JC:\u00a0I’m greatly blessed to be a part of ITS — a group of really smart, dedicated people who like each other, get along, and strive to do great work in support the College’s mission.<\/p>\n

    I:\u00a0What is a question you wished you’d been asked in this interview? Please answer it!<\/p>\n

    JC:\u00a0Q: What’s one life goal you haven’t yet accomplished?<\/p>\n

    A: I’d like to go on tour with a band. Nothing crazy, just like doing the festival circuit for a summer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The \u201cWho Is That?\u201d series gives you insight into who we are here in the ITS department with a series of traditional and non-traditional interview questions. … Continue reading “Who Is That?” Series: Introducing Joel Cooper<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":4906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[90,236,237],"class_list":{"0":"post-4902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-people","8":"tag-featured","9":"tag-people","10":"tag-who-is-that","11":"post_format-post-format-image","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/jcooper2_blog.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph2nPL-1h4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4902"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4925,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902\/revisions\/4925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}