LSU A&M IT Centralization Initiative
Message from LSU Office of the President:
In March 2025, the LSU A&M President’s Office announced a series of initiatives on the LSU A&M campus in pursuit of enhancing LSU’s student success, research excellence, and financial health. This included a focus on ensuring quality control, information security, and consistency of service, so ITS was chosen first to undergo centralization. In June, the LSU A&M President’s Office reaffirmed the University’s priorities remained intact as it continued to focus on elevating student success, excelling in research and creative work, and engaging stakeholders for the betterment of Louisiana and the world.
Why Centralize IT?
LSU A&M has a strong community of IT professionals supporting departments across campus. Centralizing IT builds on that foundation by creating opportunities to streamline services, align technology standards, and improve governance. Together, we can deliver more consistent, cost-effective, and visible IT support across the university.
Key Goals:
The primary purpose of the IT Centralization Initiative at LSU A&M is to streamline, standardize, and strengthen the university’s IT support infrastructure by consolidating decentralized IT functions into a unified central support model.
Through collaboration with Departments/Units across campus, we aim to:
Improve Service Quality: Establish consistent service levels and unified customer support experience across all departments/units on the LSU A&M Campus.
Enhance Operational Efficiency: Reduce duplicated efforts, leverage shared tools and processes, and consolidate hardware/software procurement where appropriate.
Strengthen Cybersecurity: Centralize security oversight to ensure compliance with evolving cybersecurity standards and best practices.
Optimize Resource Allocation: Reassign and/or retrain staff where needed to focus on high-impact IT services and innovation.
Preserve and Support Specialized Research Needs: Maintain and enhance IT capabilities tailored to the unique needs of research-intensive environments and ensure minimal disruption to grant-driven or lab-based work.
Support Institutional Priorities: Align IT services with academic, research, and administrative goals to ensure technology is a strategic enabler.
ITS Success Story: College of Science Move to ISB
When the LSU College of Science relocated to the OLOL Health Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) in March 2026, Information Technology Services (ITS) ensured a smooth transition of IT resources through centralized coordination, careful planning, and hands-on support. ITS was also heavily involved throughout the ISB planning and construction phases, partnering on AV and conference room technology. ITS collaborated with Dr. Morgan Kelly, Maria Cazes, and Tim Hallin to execute a structured move plan aligned with its centralized support model. During planning, an early decision to transition from physical servers to a shared network environment eliminated the need to move on-premises infrastructure, reducing risk and improving long-term reliability.
During the move, systems were reconnected and tested in priority order, quickly restoring access to critical tools. Follow-up support ensured full functionality across departments. The result was reduced downtime, streamlined coordination, and a positive user experience, demonstrating the value of centralized IT in supporting complex campus transitions.
“Working with ITS leadership on our move made the entire process painless. Their staff were responsive, knowledgeable, and extremely adaptive. I couldn’t have asked for a better IT transition experience.”
Dr. Morgan Kelly, Associate Dean for Research & Administration
The ITS team continues to work with college leadership to address challenges, coordinate with vendors, and train users while ensuring shared spaces are fully functional. The successful relocation highlights the value of centralized IT operations at LSU. Through proactive planning, cross-functional collaboration, and dedicated support, ITS enabled the College of Science to transition into its new space with minimal disruption and a strong foundation for future growth.
“It was a pleasure working with ITS leadership during the early planning stages. Their adaptability and commitment to customer service made it easy to navigate changes and ensure we met the needs of our faculty and staff throughout the move.”
Maria Cazes, Associate Dean for Research & Administration
Success Story: Saving the Conference
When a large conference at the School of Veterinary Medicine ran into a last-minute challenge - disconnected and damaged cables after the podium was moved - the benefits of Centralized IT Support became clear. The School of Veterinary Medicine IT team was able to call on the ITS AV and Desktop Operations teams, who quickly stepped in to help. With only hours to spare, they completely rebuilt the auditorium’s AV system, ensuring the event went off without a hitch. Today, the centralized AV team continues to provide dedicated support for the School of Veterinary Medicine, delivering phenomenal service while also saving the school money.
“A big thumbs up to the team for their work and professional approach to a bad situation! ”
Dr. Eric Seneca, Senior Director of IT - LSU School of Veterinary Medicine