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Who's Who at the Computing Center Dan Albrich | Lynn Buffing | Joey Mitchell
Joyce Winslow
jwins@oregon.uoregon.edu
[back
to top]The youngest of eight children growing up in Portland, Oregon, Dan was the only one in his family to enthusiastically pursue computer science. He got his first computer at age 12, began writing computer programs in high school, and has never looked back.
Dan transferred to the UO from Gonzaga University in 1990 and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science in 1992. While still a student, he joined the Computing Center staff as an employee of Network Services and also as a consultant for the Microcomputer Purchase Program. After graduation, Dan became the main computer support person for the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts.
When a Microcomputer Network Specialist job opened at the Computing Center in 1996, Dan applied and was hired. Gregarious Dan enjoys working with people, and his present job suits him perfectly. He and two colleagues work as a team to provide computer support for the entire campus--training Help Desk staff, producing and distributing the Duckware CD, and sharing information online via the Microcomputer Services web site (http://micro.uoregon.edu) and a departmental computing group mailing list. Dan also helps provide direct support to UO faculty and staff.
Dan's fascination with technology spills over after hours. He spends a lot of time playing with electronics at home and is an avid reader of technical journals. Last summer he and his fiancee Rebecca bought a house close to campus and home ownership now consumes much of his spare time, but when he can get away Dan likes to join his extended family for skiing and hiking trips. Dan also enjoys doing volunteer computing work, and he helped set up the office network for the Eugene Celebration last September.
Lynn
Buffing
Assistant to the Director [back to top]
Lynn Buffing brings her considerable talents as a designer and many years of administrative experience to her job at the Computing Center.
Lynn was always interested in art, but after a few years of undergraduate work at Vermont College and the University of Vermont, she was persuaded to pursue a more practical path to allow her to care for her ailing mother.
Subsequently, Lynn landed some interesting jobs as an executive secretary at NBC and Young & Rubicam in New York City. It was there she met and married an IBM programmer and marketing representative. When the marriage ended a few years later, Lynn retreated to Mystic, Connecticut, and her artistic roots. She supported her painting by working as a cook in "The Mischievous Carrot" restaurant and as a carpenter for a two-masted schooner. The carpentry stint led to romance with another artist, a sculptor with roots in the West, and it wasn't long before Lynn headed across the country and settled in Eugene.
When Lynn arrived in Eugene in 1979, she continued to eke out a living by designing children's puzzles and working for temporary agencies. But by 1983, Lynn was a single parent looking for more stable employment. Drawing on her earlier experience, she began working as a secretary in the UO Registrar's Office. In 1994, after working several years in succession as an administrative assistant for the Oregon University System and two UO administrative offices, Lynn joined the Computing Center as Assistant to the Director.
Lynn wears many hats at the Computing Center. In addition to providing administrative support to the director, she acts as human resources manager and is responsible for recruiting, hiring, and orientating new Computing Center employees. She also serves as payroll administrator, coordinates special projects, plans special events, and occasionally designs some of the Center's informational material. Most recently, she's been the Computing Center's point person for the Grayson Hall remodeling project, and she's currently lending her organizational talents to remodeling the Computing Center proper--a project slated to begin this year.
While working and raising her son, Lynn took advantage of educational opportunities at the UO, graduating Magna Cum Laude and earning a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1988.
Although for many years art necessarily took a back seat to parenting, Lynn has recently enjoyed more freedom to paint. She's now in the process of converting her garage into a studio, where she plans to develop her sketches of Oregon scenes into finished watercolors and oils.
Joey Mitchell
[back to top]
Auxiliary Systems Consultant
Administrative Services
Since moving to Eugene eight years ago, California native Joey Mitchell still occasionally feels sun-deprived. Joey was raised in Porterville, a small town 50 miles north of Bakersfield, and spent his college days and early work life in T-shirt weather.
Joey earned a B.S. in Math with a minor in computer science from Cal State San Bernardino in 1985. After graduation, he wrote top-level defense system programs for the US Air Force while working at the San Diego office of SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation).
Joey might still be there had his sister not introduced him to her college roommate, Robyn, an Oregon native who hails from Roseburg. Their long-distance relationship blossomed, and Joey proposed on Thanksgiving Day 1989. Three years later, Robyn got an enticing job offer from Emerald Junior Academy in Pleasant Hill. The newlyweds relocated to Eugene, and Joey joined the Computing Center's Auxiliary Services group as a systems analyst to help implement BANNER's Financial Information System (FIS).
Since 1996, Joey has been the primary support person for the BANNER Accounts Receivable system and has overseen the transition of many upgrades, rewriting the cashiering system to work with the new Graphical User Interface that was instituted last fall. He also provides primary support for the Student Loan System and helps support BANNER FIS.
Other on-the-job accomplishments include designing an automated service-request tracking system to fill requests from campus users, and an in-house system that tracks staff time and billing.
While still not quite reconciled to Oregon's wet weather, Joey has adapted and put down roots. He and Robyn have built a home here, and they are now parents of three-year-old Ryan. Young Ryan is already following in dad's footsteps and spends a lot of time on the computer, absorbing lessons from his Disney JumpStart CD.
On sunny days, Joey likes to take to the open road on his Yamaha 1100 motorcycle. He also enjoys landscaping his yard, and vies with neighbors to produce the greenest grass. Joey's other favorite activities include tending his coin collection, accumulating "Hard Rock Cafe" shirts on his travels, and spending time with his son.