Florida State University’s Information Technology Services highlighted technique, innovation and partnerships April 7 through the 2026 ITS Spring Town Hall and RISE Together Showcase, a daylong occasion highlighting how technology is accelerating the college’s educational, research and service missions.
Hosted at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center and the Augustus B. Turnbull III Florida State Conference Center, the occasion introduced collectively a whole bunch of ITS employees, college, college students and college management for institution-wide updates and hands-on demonstrations of rising applied sciences.
During the morning city corridor, Jim Clark, FSU provost and government vice chairman for Academic Affairs; Stacey Patterson, vice chairman for research; and Jeremy Slaga, FSU’s vice chairman and chief scientific operations officer, informed attendees that Florida State University’s rise into the nation’s high 25 public universities was pushed not solely by ambition, however additionally by the folks and methods supporting that development.
“I am thrilled to be in the top 25 public universities in the United States — it’s an incredible achievement,” Clark stated. “But our focus today is to talk about the role you all play in helping us thrive and become even more excellent in the years ahead.”
Clark stated that success turned attainable solely when the pursuit of nationwide prominence developed right into a coordinated effort supported by aligned methods, infrastructure and service.
“These are the teams that are making that happen,” stated Jonathan Fozard, affiliate vice chairman and chief data officer. “These are the teams that are helping support the students, faculty and staff achieve our collective goals and aspirations for this amazing university.”
Slaga highlighted Florida State’s increasing well being and research initiatives.
“FSU Health has an opportunity to serve as a vehicle — a backboard — that allows all of these amazing components to plug in,” Slaga stated, emphasizing the necessity for standardized methods and shared information to help collaboration.
Patterson offered an replace on ASPIRE, or A Strategic Plan to Inspire Research Excellence, emphasizing folks, partnerships, infrastructure and excellence because the 4 pillars of the plan.
“When we talk about infrastructure, it’s not just buildings,” Patterson stated. “It’s the processes and the systems behind the operations. None of us can do what we do without all of you.”
Patterson famous that Florida State has greater than doubled its variety of National Academy members up to now yr and a half, a key measure of research prominence and {that a} sturdy digital infrastructure and service help are important to recruiting and retaining elite college.
After the dialog with college management, Fozard emphasised that ITS’s best power is its folks. He outlined plans to put money into ability development, foster belief and psychological security to help innovation, and proceed the shift from a ticket-based service mannequin to a trusted strategic companion throughout campus.
While the morning city corridor centered on technique and alignment, the afternoon RISE Together Showcase was designed to advertise collaboration, spotlight initiatives and drive technological innovation throughout the college.
Now in its third yr, the half-day technology convention featured three 50-minute session blocks showcasing initiatives already in use or improvement throughout schooling, research and administration.
The showcase additionally highlighted the continued success of ITS’ scholar internship program, which has reached a document stage of participation this yr. A complete of 156 scholar interns at the moment work throughout Information Technology Services this semester, gaining hands-on expertise via actual technology initiatives whereas supporting the college’s mission.
Among the shows was a session on 3D printing showcasing work led by scholar interns in rising technology, who’re growing scalable printing companies that help college, employees and campus occasions.
Another highlighted the reimagined model of Ruby, ITS’ Salesforce-based digital assistant, rebuilt as an clever AI agent able to deciphering person intent and performing multi-step duties somewhat than merely returning search outcomes.
Another session demonstrated how ITS is modernizing analytics at FSU, displaying how cloud platforms and instruments comparable to Power BI are used to remodel complicated institutional information into safe, accessible dashboards that help decision-making throughout educational and operational models.
Midway via the afternoon, interns offered posters and spoke with campus leaders and attendees about their work, providing a probability to highlight student-driven innovation.
By the tip of the day, the message was constant: at Florida State University, technology is a strategic, people-centered enterprise powering research, instruction, well being care and scholar success and transferring the establishment ahead.