Twenty years, two colleges, one mission

When Tim Gramza walked onto Central Michigan University’s campus as a transfer student in 2002, he was already looking for more than a degree—he wanted experience.

“I recall being so excited at the opportunity to get real-world experience in IT,” said Gramza. “I was thirsty for knowledge and experience, so I would raise my hand anytime my supervisors presented a project, and I’d eagerly watch the work queue so I could grab tickets and run across campus to knock them out.”

That eagerness paid off. Not only did Gramza graduate in 2004 with a degree in Information Technology, but he also launched a 20-year (and counting) career at CMU. Along the way, he found mentorship, met his future wife—also a student employee at the time—and discovered a deep sense of purpose in CMU’s mission.

“For me, the promise of higher education had been fulfilled. CMU had prepared me academically, provided me with the opportunity to gain practical experience in my chosen field, and acted as a launch pad as I started my journey as a young adult.”

Supporting CMU’s tech needs—big and small

Today, Gramza serves as Director of Technology for both the College of Business Administration and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. He leads the full-time and student IT staff responsible for supporting academic technology across both colleges.

That includes everything from faculty tech needs and classroom setup to cybersecurity, lab infrastructure, academic events, and virtualization platforms for teaching and research.

“As I’ve gained experience over the years, I’ve also gained a number of ‘hats’ to wear,” Gramza said. “I work with researchers quite often and I've served as a member of CMU's Institutional Review Board for a number of years, so in the morning I might be helping a faculty member or graduate student plan the data security aspects of their projects. Later, I might be meeting with a group of IT folks to review the latest campus security scan data or heading up a project to try to improve some aspect of our service. On any given day, I will wear several, but I’d say that my favorite is when I get the opportunity to mentor and work directly with our student technicians.”

From help tickets to HyFlex: OIT in action

As part of CMU’s Academic and Research Computing Team, Gramza and his colleagues serve faculty, staff, and students directly—while collaborating with university-wide OIT teams behind the scenes.

“The academic colleges each have some OIT staff members embedded within them, who know the particular needs of that college’s departments and disciplines,” he explained. “We all report up through the Executive Director of Academic and Research Computing. We meet weekly, communicate constantly, and ensure that we can flow expertise and resources where they are needed.”

Whether it’s troubleshooting a tech issue, reviewing data security protocols for research, or preparing classrooms for a new semester, Gramza’s team is involved. And when change happens—especially in technology—it often results in a surge of support needs.

“If I’ve learned one thing in my 20 years of support it’s that ‘change equals tickets,’” he said. “OIT does its very best to manage change and keep disruptions to a minimum, but ‘change’ and ‘technology’ might as well be synonyms.”

One of the most memorable challenges? Implementing HyFlex learning during the pandemic.

“That moment was literally unprecedented—we had no playbook,” he said. “We had to outfit classrooms, provide training material for faculty, create response plans, and collaborate across OIT to deliver exactly what leadership and students needed. When classes started that fall, it was as wild as we expected, but we were up to the challenge.”

How students can get help from OIT

For students dealing with everyday tech frustrations, Gramza points to a single resource: help.cmich.edu.

“That’s the landing page for the OIT Help Desk, where they can quickly search the knowledgebase, chat live with a staff member, submit a ticket, or view current campus-wide issues. Students could likely save themselves a lot of troubleshooting time by checking there first.”

And when it’s time to stop troubleshooting and ask for help?

“The moment you feel like you’re spinning your wheels or that the solution is something you don’t have access to—ask us.”

Gramza encourages students to submit tickets through the system rather than emailing individuals directly. “It’s the most efficient way to make sure your request reaches the right person—quickly.”

Giving back, full circle

Despite everything on his plate, Gramza still finds time for what he loves most: mentoring student technicians.

“There is nothing more gratifying for me than helping them grow as IT professionals and then seeing them graduate and walk into careers. It’s a full-circle moment for me—I was that kid 20 years ago.”

He also gives back by supporting the IT Student Employee Scholarship, which provides financial support to the next generation of CMU tech professionals.

“If this is my opportunity to plug something,” he said with a smile, “then I’d like to mention that at giving.apps.cmich.edu, there is a scholarship fund for IT Student Employees that you can donate to. Our student employees are the best, and they’re certainly worth supporting!

Grateful, grounded, and still growing

After two decades of service to CMU, Gramza’s sense of gratitude is still as strong as ever.

“I love that I work somewhere that has a goal of making a meaningful, positive impact on the lives of the students and community that we serve. That’s exactly what CMU did for me, so I enjoy that I get to play a small part in that mission.”

He also credits the people he’s worked with—especially those in CBA and CLASS—for their support and inspiration.

“The good people there have supported me personally and professionally, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a small part of their fabric.”