Issue 24, September 28, 2021

Memphis Leading the Nation in Diversity in IT
Source: Daily Memphian and Regina Whitley, Greater Memphis IT Council

A few weeks ago, Regina Whitley, the Greater Memphis IT Council executive director, came to speak to our Women in IT (WIT) group. After sharing her fascinating career journey, she shared a very promising fact - Memphis is leading the nation in diversity in IT.

Memphis Workforce Growth

In Memphis, African Americans make up 25% of the IT workforce compared to 8% nationally, and women account for 31% of the tech workforce compared to 26% nationally – both are higher percentages than any other metro area.  The data was revealed in a new diversity index as part of the annual Cyberstates Report by the Computing Technology Industry Association, a nonprofit trade association. The report is a go-to guide for the U.S. information technology industry and its workforce.  The new diversity index produced in 2021 measures the depth and breadth of diversity in the IT sector. Tech market characteristics rank Memphis in the 2nd quartile of leading the nation in diversity among minority sectors. See the entire CompTIA Cyberstates 2021 report for Memphis.

Do you find it annoying when Zoom announces the name of those who have just joined or exited your meeting? Does the announcement interrupt the flow of the ongoing discussion? Here's how you can stop this from happening in your meetings!

Start by checking your host settings before you create a meeting:

Method #1

1. Log in to Zoom in your browser by going to tennessee.zoom.us.

Method #2

1. Go to Zoom and click on the gearin the upper right corner or click on your initials and select Settings.
2. Click on Profile.
3. Click on Edit My Portfolio.  This will open tennessee.zoom.us in a browser tab.

Next steps

1. Click on Settings in the left menu.
2. Under In Meeting (Basic), you will see Sound notification when someone joins or leaves.
3. Toggle this option On.
4. Once enabled, you will see additional options. Select the options that meet your needs.

• Play sound for:
  • Everyone
  • Host and co-hosts only
  • Click on your preferred option.
• When someone joins by phone:
  • Ask to record their voice to use as the notification

Some hosts want to be made aware when anyone joins their meeting. Others do not. This may also vary by meeting.

If you do not want to be alerted to participants joining and leaving your meeting, Toggle the Sound notification when someone joins or leaves option Off.

This is just one of our many articles about Zoom in UTHSC TechConnect. Check them out to learn more!

SAS is a suite for statistical analysis, data management, and graphics. There are two recommended ways to run SAS: SAS itself, using its original program editor; SAS Studio, a more modern interface for both programming and menu-based analysis. Other products included in the Education Analytical Suite are Enterprise Miner, used for data mining, and Text Miner, which can extract concepts or sentiment from large volumes of text.

Learn more about SAS on OIT's Research Software website. Learn when to use it, where to run it, how to learn, and get help.

Microsoft has some excellent training courses we recommend:

This Microsoft Teams tutorial will show you how to turn a file into a Microsoft Teams tab. If everyone in your channel needs quick access to a file, turn it into a tab so it's easy to get to. To do so, choose the file and select “more options" then "make this a tab.”

Sometimes, an email needs to go to many people to collaborate on an idea.

But have you ever gotten one of these emails and just pressed Reply instead of Reply All?

Now, you are only replying to the sender and are completely out of the collaboration loop - no one else knows your brilliant idea!

We suggest you click Reply All...most of the time.

The reason we say, “most of the time,” is there are times when Reply All is not the best option.

For example, a department admin sends out a message telling everyone it is Dr. Smith’s birthday. Reply All? No, not unless you want to spam everyone’s inbox. To send an email directly to Dr. Smith, click Reply, clear out the admin’s email, enter Dr. Smith's email, and wish away!

Think before you use Reply All with:

• a listserv message with a large audience (such as the faculty, staff, or student listservs)
• a message that has 20+ recipients (unless they all need to know what you have to say)
• a message to the entire department

Web Browsers – Only Use the Latest Version

Older versions of web browsers should never be used. These browsers probably have discovered unpatched security issues, creating a high risk for yourself and UTHSC if used. Use only the latest version of a browser to access the web. Also, set browsers to auto-update to the most recent version so that your computer is protected from new exploits.

Another point, if you have multiple browsers on your machine, i.e., Internet Explorer, Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, but you don’t launch and use them regularly, remove them. They are a vulnerability to your device. (While you are at it, remove ANY application that you don’t use. Why keep it?)

Did you know that Microsoft will end support of Internet Explorer 11 on June 15, 2022? The newer replacement from Microsoft, Edge, has been available for years and will continue to be supported after IE is retired.

Stay safe, keep your devices safe, and #BeCyberSmart.

Dennis Leber, PhD
In each issue, we feature one of our amazing ITS team members. We learn more about Dennis Leber, PhD who leads our Cybersecurity team in this segment.

What is your role and how long have you been in ITS at UTHSC? I am the Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) & Chief Information Technology Officer (CTO) for the Campus. I have been at UTHSC for just under two years.

What is a day in the life of Dennis like? A typical day consists of ensuring I am supporting and facilitating Cybersecurity and Infrastructure teams, providing strategic direction, and supporting our business units across the campus.

What is your favorite thing about working at UTHSC? It is hard to select just one thing; we have great teams, diversity, and the advancements in healthcare demonstrated every day. The work-life balance and support we receive is enviable.

What’s something most people don’t know about you? There are a few items; I teach at Harvard for their Cybersecurity Risk Management program, I also adjunct at three other Universities, I have authored a cybersecurity chapter in two Springer Text books aimed at Healthcare, I am a US Marine Combat Vet from the 1^st Gulf War, I have served in the Marines and the US Army, I have been married for 20 years, have 5 grown children, and 9 grandchildren. I owned and operated a Martial Arts Academy, I used to have my private pilot’s license, I love to ride Motorcycles, and spend time outdoors. During the period of time between the Military and pursuing my career in Cybersecurity I was a Police Officer.