IT Newsletter

Issue 2 - Oct. 2026

Dear colleagues,

As we begin a new fall semester, I want to thank our IT team and campus partners for everything you've done to prepare for the return of our students, faculty, and staff. This issue highlights several of the projects and services helping support the university, including our transition from Duo to Microsoft authentication, new accessibility resources, classroom technology upgrades, and the latest AI initiatives. Thank you for all you do to keep William & Mary moving forward. 

Kind regards,

Ed Aractingi
Chief Information Officer

William & Mary IT is almost done with the transition of all campus accounts from DUO to Microsoft MFA, providing faculty, staff and students with a more streamlined sign-in experience.  Thank you to everyone who proactively made the switch! 

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Creating accessible digital content starts with choosing color combinations that are easy for everyone to read. Whether you're designing a webpage, presentation, email, social media graphic, or digital document, sufficient color contrast improves readability for all users, including people with low vision or color vision deficiencies, while helping maintain William & Mary's visual identity.  

The new W&M Color Contrast Checker makes it easy to create content that is both accessible and on brand. Built using the university's official color palette, the tool evaluates every W&M foreground and background color combination against both WCAG accessibility requirements and W&M branding standards. Learn more about it in our digital accessibility tip of the month.  

W&M IT has rolled out a new Knowledge Base, and it's quickly becoming a go-to resource for the entire university community. Whether you're troubleshooting a tricky tech issue, looking for step-by-step how-to guides, or trying to figure out what software is available to you, this new section of the IT portal has you covered. Check it out now! 

This summer, the team completed technology upgrades in classrooms across Washington Hall, Chancellors Hall, Jones Hall, and Small Hall 233 and 235, marking the final phase of a five-year initiative to modernize centrally managed learning spaces. All centrally managed classrooms will now feature a consistent technology experience for faculty and students. Kudos to the Academic Technology Team! 

On September 9th, William & Mary IT celebrated a year of meaningful progress in advancing digital accessibility across the university. Held on the Swem Library patio, the event recognized the dedication, collaboration, and commitment of staff, faculty, and working group members who have helped improve accessibility across W&M’s digital environments. 
 
The celebration highlighted the important work happening across campus to create a more inclusive digital experience for the entire William & Mary community.  

William & Mary has been part of Roberto Guerrero’s life for as long as he can remember. His father joined W&M as a professor in 1990, and Roberto began his own career at the university in 2015 with Facilities Management’s Electric Shop. After completing a four-year electrical apprenticeship and spending a decade building his technical and institutional knowledge, Roberto made an unexpected move to IT in 2025, joining the Infrastructure team as a Field Engineer. His hands-on experience and familiarity with campus have translated naturally to his new role, where he helps install and maintain the equipment that keeps W&M’s network running smoothly. 

Today, his work ranges from installing battery backups, network switches, wireless access points and cameras to partnering with Facilities Management teams to help keep campus data centers operating reliably. Looking ahead, he’s especially excited about the Data Center move from Jones Hall to ISC and the fiber redundancy “Leaf and Spine” project — two major initiatives that will help prepare W&M’s network for the future. Outside of work, Roberto enjoys spending time with his family, including his two daughters and his pets, Apollo and Phats, and going to concerts. For Roberto, one of the best parts of his role is the people: “The people I work with are great and make coming to work everyday fun. I’m excited to see what the future holds for IT.” 

Please join us in welcoming five new hires to IT this summer (Not pictured: Diego Casiano, part-time tech support specialist). Welcome to the team!

The Student Technology Innovation Lab is W&M’s internal technology consulting team, giving students the opportunity to solve real university challenges in a startup-style environment while earning academic credit. Created through a partnership between W&M IT and the Entrepreneurship Hub, the lab turns campus into a living laboratory where students build practical solutions for William & Mary. The new website is now live—check it out to explore current projects and learn how to get involved! 

An Pham ('29) is a sophomore studying Computer Science (AI Track) and Studio Art. Through the Innovation Lab, An is exploring how artificial intelligence can support coding and everyday computing tasks while gaining hands-on experience building solutions for the William & Mary community. She has worked on projects including the Innovation Lab website and Carbon Tracker initiative and enjoys the collaborative, student-driven environment the lab provides.  

Maeve Meyer is a sophomore in the Computer Science Cybersecurity Track with a particular interest in the intersection of technology, research, and medicine. In the Innovation Lab, she is helping develop the Media Scorecard project, applying her programming skills to real-world university challenges. Maeve values opportunities to use technology to advance research and enjoys learning about innovative work happening across campus. 

IT and UHR Partner on AI Initiative 

The Classification Compensation AI Project is a collaboration between W&M IT and University Human Resources to explore how AI can support the classification and compensation review process. The project uses an AI-powered application to help organize role information, analyze large data sets and compare salary data with peer institutions. "By reducing the time needed for manual research and benchmarking, the tool can help UHR staff work more efficiently and make more informed decisions in support of faculty and staff positions across the university,” said Chas Ritinski, Total Rewards Manager. 

Tracking National Preeminence

William & Mary IT’s Innovation Lab is partnering with University Communications to improve university analytics and enhance national media strategy. The Lab is automating a customized scoring mechanism for all university earned media placements developed by University Communications and the Media Relations Team as well as developing an interactive dashboard to aid visualization of analytics. The dashboard, and its supporting scoring system, will provide University Communications with a way to measure the qualitative impact of media placements in addition to the quantitative result.   

These tools will launch later this fall and will be utilized across marketing and communications to inform strategy and build the brand and engagement infrastructure that drive lifelong demand for the university. 

If you’ve ever contacted the Technology Support Center, you’ve probably heard the classic question: “Have you tried rebooting?” A reboot simply means restarting your computer or turning it off and back on, something we recommend doing at least once a week. Think of it as giving your device a quick reset so it can clear out glitches and get back to running smoothly.  

To ensure your Omni copier/printer is monitored properly, please leave it powered on and connected to Ethernet at all times—even during university breaks. 

Omni devices automatically report toner levels each night, and replacement toner is shipped when levels reach approximately 20%. If a device is turned off or disconnected, toner levels can't be reported, which may delay automatic shipments and impact billing. Keeping your device online helps ensure uninterrupted service. 

Protecting university data begins with protecting your credentials. University policy prohibits sharing your username, password, or other login credentials with anyone or any system, including colleagues, third-party services, AI tools, and large language model (LLM) platforms. Sharing credentials creates unnecessary security risks that can lead to unauthorized access, data exposure, and compliance issues for both individuals and the university.  

Always keep your credentials private and use only approved methods for accessing and sharing university resources. If you believe your credentials have been exposed or compromised, contact the Technology Support Center at support@wm.edu  immediately.

University computing resources are intended primarily for university business, but limited personal use is generally acceptable when it does not interfere with work responsibilities, consume excessive resources, violate university policies, or compromise security. Employees should be mindful that not all personal use is permitted; for example, while occasional personal web browsing may be acceptable, using university systems to share, forward, store, or disclose university business information for non-business purposes is not. Responsible use of university technology helps protect institutional data, maintain compliance with university policies, and ensure resources remain secure and available for their intended purpose. 

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