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Computerworld - When the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., set up a new student housing system, the developers who worked on it spent three weekends at the housing office, helping the staff there answer questions from students. The result of their efforts was a system that incoming students could use to find roommates and select rooms online before arriving on campus. Then, when the students arrived, IT staffers went to their rooms to help them set up their PCs, install software and add antivirus protections.

This kind of informal and intimate partnership between IT and end users is one of the things that prompts Daniel Thomas, assistant director of IT, to say, "I have a wonderful time here. I absolutely love what I do."

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To be sure, Thomas says, there are drawbacks to working in academic IT: The pay generally is lower than it is in the corporate world, and small IT budgets force you to keep technology for longer. But Thomas says he takes pride in doing more with less. "We are always looking for the value proposition, and we are able to develop a lot of skills to do things efficiently," he says.

"We are really able to involve ourselves in the life of the university," explains Thomas, who manages the database group and also serves as a user liaison for reporting. Recently, for example, he rearranged computer processing schedules and came in on a Saturday to meet a special, one-time reporting requirement for the dean of law school admissions.

Juan Abreu, the first-shift supervisor in computer operations, started at the university as a data entry operator in 1978, right out of high school. Abreu agrees he could make more money elsewhere, but, he says, "the corporate world is all about dollar signs, especially after you hear about Enron and all that stuff. But here, it's a family atmosphere."

Abreu and others in IT have high praise for M. Lewis Temares, CIO and dean of the College of Engineering. "Temares is an example of the ultimate work ethic and professionalism," Abreu says. "He gives us the direction to go in, but then he trusts us to do whatever we need to do. And he has an open-door policy."

That open door helps him as well as his employees, Temares says. "The people here are great. They force me to push myself harder; they force me to think outside the box."