Work Continues on Intranet Platform 'OneStThomas'

Work continues to progress on the University of St. Thomas’ new intranet platform, “OneStThomas,” which will combine online tools and information for faculty, staff and students in an easy-access, personalized format. St. Thomas community members will have access to OneStThomas with a username and password as part of a soft launch later this summer, with a full launch scheduled for fall semester.

St. Thomas President Dr. Julie Sullivan encouraged the intranet’s development, noting that, “Many universities of our size and scope have found that implementing an intranet system improves internal communication.”

With a stated vision that “students, faculty and staff use OneStThomas, a secured intranet, for communications, resources and social engagement within the university community,” the intranet will serve as a digital “wrapper” for Office365, SharePoint technologies and internal campus communications. OneStThomas will operate with Unily, an award-winning platform developed by BrightStarr.

“Unily ties together so many of the things that historically have been very separated on our campus: our communications, our collaboration platforms and our projects,” said Dr. Ed Clark, vice president for technology and chief information officer at St. Thomas.

OneStThomas’ connecting power aims to improve users’ experience in several ways:

  • Developing a more collaborative, innovative and engaged workforce and student body with an integrated digital workspace.
  • Fostering cross-functional collaboration and employee engagement with focused, timely and relevant communications.
  • Reducing legal, competitive and privacy risks by securing internal content currently on the public website.
  • Increasing employee effectiveness and efficiency by improving the accessibility and find-ability of current and relevant university content.

A wide range of people and roles are involved in the continued planning and implementation of the intranet:

Senior Leader Sponsorship

  • Kymm Martinez, Marketing, Insights and Communication
  • Pat Sirek, Office of the President
  • Jenn Haas, Information Technology Services

Senior Internal Communication Governance Group

  • Kymm Martinez, Marketing, Insights and Communication
  • Corrine Carvalho, Office of the President
  • Ed Clark, Information Technology Services
  • Michelle Thom, Human Resources
  • Sara Gross Methner, General Counsel
  • Karen Lange, Student Affairs

Intranet Action Team

  • Steve Ackerson, Information Technology Services
  • Jane Beauchamp, Marketing, Insights and Communication
  • Ben Durrant, Information Technology Services
  • Sharon Nollan, information Technology Services

Stakeholder Focus Group

  • Corrine Carvalho, Office of the President
  • Nancy Shoen, Human Resources
  • John Keston, Communication and Journalism
  • Ed Kim, Student Affairs
  • Elizabeth Smith, Faculty Development
  • Karen Julian, Enrollment Services
  • Helen Ebert, School of Law
  • Rachel Harris, Student Affairs
  • Jerome Duepner, Institutional Effectiveness
  • Hiyana Xiong, School of Social Work
  • Jonathan Empie, Dining Services
  • Karen Harthorn, Purchasing Services
  • Vern Klobassa, Student Affairs

Working Groups

  • Project work groups are organized around the following areas of focus: Content, User Experience, Integrations, Governance, Marketing and Communications.

Project Implementation Team

  • Jenn Haas, IT Project Sponsor
  • Sharon Nollan, Project Manager
  • Steve Ackerson, CMS Analyst, SharePoint Owner, SME, Co-Project Manager
  • Lief Johnson, CMS Analyst, SharePoint SME, Training/Instructor
  • Ben Durrant, Web Enterprise Architect, Technical and Search Design
  • Annie Johnson, UI/UX Designer, Branding, Graphics
  • Stephanie O’Neil, Information Architechture, T4 Content
  • James Heaney,  Application Developer
  • Julian Mino, Application Developer
  • Jane Beauchamp, Director Web Design
  • Jordan Osterman, Editor Newsroom

Project Support Team

  • Tim Sullivan, Associate Director of Infrastructure Services, Office 365/ADFS
  • Judd Berthiaume, Sr. Infrastructure Analyst, Exchange/AD Administrator
  • Charlie Schuman, Office 365/Desktop, Technical Support
  • Marie Morzenti, Enterprise Security Consultant

Please feel free to talk to any of the team members or use the project feedback form for your questions and comments. For more information about the project visit stthomas.edu/onestthomas.