Campus Computing News

By Dianna Mullet, Lead UNIX Systems Administrator

Dr.Leatherbury took some time off this month. -- Ed.

UNT Joins USENIX

The Computing Center has renewed UNT's University-wide annual memberships to USENIX and SAGE. For those who are not familiar with USENIX, it's a technical interest group that focuses on practical problem-solving, fostering innovation and research that works, rapidly communicating the results of both research and innovation, and providing a neutral forum for exercising critical thought and airing of technical issues.

SAGE (System Administrators Guild) is a Special Technical Group (STG) of USENIX. SAGE was organized to advance the status of computer system administration as a profession, to establish standards of professional excellence develop guidelines for improving the technical and managerial capabilities of members of the profession, and to promote activities that advance the community of system administrators.

SAGE sponsors a local Dallas/Fort Worth chapter, DFWSAGE. DFWSAGE is co-sponsored by the University of Texas at Dallas and includes a UNT staff member (yours truly) on its executive board. As a local chapter of USENIX/SAGE, DFWSAGE was created to foster the collaboration of knowledge and experience of network and system administration in the North Texas area.

DFW SAGE has a new special interest "birds-of-a-feather" (BOF) group for women who hold positions as system administrators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The group provides a forum where women can openly discuss issues that are unique to women with careers in system administration. DFWSAGE sponsors a mailing list for the BOF, dfwsage-bof-woman@utdallas.edu. To subscribe to the list, send a message to majordomo@utdallas.edu with "subscribe dfwsage-bof-woman" in the message body. Please pass this information on to your female system administrator friends!

For more information on the USENIX and SAGE member benefits that are extended to the UNT community, see http://www.usenix.org/ (I am the point of contact for benefits that require a "designated member" - send E-mail to dianna@unt.edu). For information on the DFWSAGE technical group and how to join, visit http://www.utdallas.edu/orgs/dfwsage/.