Centre News

Bill Phillips ’85 recently joined the staff of the Information
Technology Services office as enterprise systems analyst. In this
role, he plans to advance the use of technology on campus. “My
job is to help Centre find ways to use technology better,” he says.

Bill Phillips ’85 joined the staff of the Information Technology Services (ITS) office as enterprise systems analyst in September 2011, and in this role, he plans to advance the use of technology on campus.

“My job is to help Centre find ways to use technology better. That involves improvement to existing technology usage as well as selecting new platforms strategically,” he says.

Despite only having been at Centre a short time, Phillips has already set several projects in motion.

“I’ve done some work to help with the annual Senior Survey, which we’re developing now,” Phillips says. “The work involves allowing students to record their club activities and giving club officers access to e-mail lists from that roster. Officers will be able to confirm annually who’s involved in their clubs.”

The work Phillips is doing for the Senior Survey will give the campus community a chance to share a wider variety of information than it has in the past.

“Another part of that project will allow faculty to inform us about honor societies and internships, and also collect honors and prizes information. All of this will be used to pre-populate the contents of the Senior Survey used by Career Services and Alumni Affairs,” Phillips says. “We’re hoping to start rolling out the first part of this early in the spring term. It’s been a fun project and will enable several services to the students that aren’t available today.”

Phillips has also begun work on a second project, originally known as ‘CentreFirst,’ which he hopes will change and improve how ITS works with the Centre community.

“We’re trying to emphasize a broader perspective before any technology is selected and deployed. I’ve compared ‘engineered’ ideas, which are designed for a specific challenge but tend to be narrowly focused, to ‘organic’ ideas, which allow growth and flexibility,” Phillips says.

“The proposal has been heard by Centre's Senior Staff and has resulted in the creation of a sub-committee called the Technology Projects Steering Subcommittee (TPSS),” Phillips continues. “The purpose of TPSS is to hear any technology proposal in a cross-campus forum, vet out the impact and costs, and prioritize the most important ones.”

Phillips is enjoying working at his alma mater.

“I love being back here. The campus is beautiful, and I love the interaction I’ve had with faculty and staff,” he says.

Witnessing his projects make a change on campus has been particularly fulfilling for Phillips.

“I enjoy being able to see ideas catch on. When that happens, you know that it’s resonating with folks,” says Phillips. “People are seeing the same issues and think the idea will work. When that happens, it’s a key indicator that the idea will have support and will succeed.”

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail elizabeth.trollinger@centre.edu with your feedback.

Centre College, founded in 1819 and chosen to host its second Vice Presidential Debate in 2012, is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges, at 42nd in the nation, and ranks 27th for best value among national liberal arts colleges. Forbes magazine ranks Centre 34th among all the nation’s colleges and universities and has named Centre in the top five among all institutions of higher education in the South for three years in a row. Centre is also ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News for its study abroad program. For more, click here.