Refresh and renew has been the mission of Mike Lloyd ’89 since taking the helm of the University of Central Arkansas Division of Information Technology in January 2018.
Lloyd graduated with a bachelor’s in business and minor in finance, giving the Hot Springs native a skill set so well rounded that he was able to serve Acxiom in a number of roles for 30 years prior to joining UCA as interim chief information officer — and eventually being named vice president and CIO.
As CIO, Lloyd oversees the university’s IT services, which include networking, directory and information security services, among others. His first order of business on the job, though, was transforming the department’s culture into a more proactive, engaging force on campus, he said.
“A good part of my time as CIO is spent out on campus working with our stakeholders, really trying to understand their needs, priorities, so that I can come back and try to help direct the key projects and initiatives my team works on,” Lloyd said.
Those projects include the new housing portal, StarRez, that opened to all students this February. The department is leading a learning management system review to evaluate UCA’s use of Blackboard against other online systems that serve as a resource for storing and tracking course material and assignments. It is also collaborating with the accessibility team to upgrade closed captioning software.
Also on the list is the Information Technology Refresh, an estimated $7,700,000 project that will replace and update the fiber that connects the network across campus. This refresh will allow for faster wireless speeds; plus, out-of-date fiber prevents the university from utilizing more modern technology, Lloyd said.
Whether it’s through working with campus departments on new software or learning about the needs of other divisions, Lloyd said his time on campus has proven the UCA community is full of passionate people committed to one common goal: student success.
“Everything we do drives back to making students successful. Even into IT, we’re big enablers of that,” he said.