Dear Colleagues, 

A few weeks ago, I shared SJSU IT’s approach to helping reduce the university’s budget deficit, focusing on our team and expanding growth opportunities. There are many skills needed in our division where you might be able to contribute and expand your role.  

As I mentioned in that previous budget email, we’re expanding professional development opportunities to empower you with the skills you want to build and the skills our university needs. One of those opportunities is the SJSU IT Cross-Pollination Program, created in 2020 to foster collaboration and skill development across different departments within our division. Since then, we’ve had many success stories from colleagues participating in this program. Today, I want to highlight one colleague’s journey. 

Jane Wang’s interest in data science was sparked after engaging in several in-house training sessions. She enrolled in data science classes and dove into related topics and courses. However, she needed hands-on experience to make data science part of her career. With her supervisor’s guidance, support, and encouragement, Jane enrolled in the Cross-Pollination Program. In just a couple of months, she was already actively working and collaborating with the Data Warehouse team. She has now seamlessly transitioned to a full-time role within the Data Warehouse team, fulfilling a crucial need for our campus.

The Cross-Pollination Program remains one of the most effective ways for you to grow your skills with onsite job experience during your regular working hours. While SJSU IT reduced 25 vacant positions for this fiscal year, we remain committed to implementing new solutions and technology in support of our students, faculty, staff and university community. We can’t do this without the support from everyone in IT. We encourage everyone that is interested in learning and doing more to leverage the Cross-Pollination Program. Your professional development not only provides you with tools for your success, but also helps our division meet the university’s IT needs within our constraints.

You can contact Willie Simon for more information about the program and how it works. If you think the Cross-Pollination Program is a good fit for you, talk to your manager and senior manager to get started. 

I want to congratulate Jane Wang on taking her career with us to the next level. Thank you, Kara Li and James Anderson, for supporting Jane’s professional development and our upskilling strategy. I also want to acknowledge Willie Simon for her contributions in coordinating the Cross-Pollination Program.

Of course, you can always come speak with me about the program or about our budget situation during my weekly open office hours, every Thursday from 2pm–4pm. Please feel free to reach out to Lin Ru to schedule a time.  

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, we have to continue to support one another with human kindness and empathy as our division navigates these uncertain times. I know many of you are chipping in, collaborating, and helping colleagues every day – thank you.   

Sincerely,
Bob-