Dear deans and vice presidents,
We write to you today with an important update regarding the Data to Insights (D2I) initiative and our continued efforts to align UT’s data resources and modernize our technology operations across campus. Since we launched D2I in February, much progress has been made, and work is well underway to expand the new Data Hub, engage the campus community through workshops, and develop new analytical reports to help us achieve the goals outlined in Change Starts Here: UT’s 10-Year Strategic Plan to Increase Impact.
Given the alignment with the D2I mission — and the careful, coordinated planning needed as we move forward — we are pleased to announce that work will begin to replace our aging Legacy Data Services in Cognos and the IQ Enterprise Data Warehouse as part of the D2I initiative. UT is deeply reliant on these systems to support operations for many units, and we know it will take several years of strategic planning and collaboration with campus partners to both fully integrate and ultimately migrate them into the Data Hub. Until that migration occurs, current processes for using these systems will continue through the respective information resource owners, also known as data owners.
We are excited to announce that Professor Brian Roberts, Interim Associate Dean for Instructional Technology and Facilities in the College of Liberal Arts, will assume the additional concurrent role as Executive Director for Legacy Data Services in D2I. He will report to Brad Wheeler, Chief Strategist to the President for D2I, and will begin building a project team to collaborate with campus information resource owners, functional system teams, and CSUs to plan, communicate, sequence, and test the campus’ migration to newer data systems over the coming years. In time, our existing Legacy Data Services, including Cognos, will be retired.
Additionally, in an effort to improve access to administrative information and data, we have appointed a small Enterprise Data Governance Taskforce to advise us regarding how the campus can simplify access and clarify our approach to data governance for administrative data.
We encourage you to visit the D2I website to learn more about plans for both Legacy Data Services and the Enterprise Data Governance Taskforce. Thank you, as always, for your support and continued partnership in this campus-wide initiative.
Sincerely,
Sharon L. Wood
Executive Vice President and Provost
Darrell Bazzell (he/him/his)
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer