{"id":58871,"date":"2017-05-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2017\/05\/24\/mike-dierks-of-its-is-gold-u-winner\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T15:28:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T20:28:54","slug":"mike-dierks-of-its-is-gold-u-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2017\/05\/24\/mike-dierks-of-its-is-gold-u-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Dierks of ITS is Gold U winner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Dierks started his career as a teacher.<\/p>\n

“I was educated in teaching, and I taught school for six years before getting a master’s in computers and deciding I needed to try something new,” said the IT workstation specialist, the most recent recipient of the Gold U.<\/p>\n

For Dierks, that “something new” turned out to be UNMC, where he’s been for the past 20 years. <\/p>\n

“It’s still an education setting, which I like,” he said.<\/p>\n

Dierks’ supervisor, Joel Hovdenes, lauded his creativity and work ethic in nominating him for the Gold U. <\/p>\n

“On a consistent basis, Mike contributes highly ingenious and valuable suggestions for improving work. He displays brilliance in his creativity and original thinking,” Hovdenes said. “When it comes to seeking increased responsibilities, Mike does not place limits on the scope of his position.”<\/p>\n

In his work routine, Dierks travels across the campus, helping colleagues with IT issues ranging from database design to Apple support to day-to-day IT operations.
\n“That makes it interesting — I get to see a lot of different areas of the campus,” he said. “I get to interact with a lot of different people.”<\/p>\n

Dierks also has been heavily involved in the Digital Campus, an effort spearheaded by UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., to get more technology into the hands of faculty and students and help them to use that technology to enhance the educational experience. <\/p>\n

“With any change like this, people are having to break out of what they may have been used to and try to learn new things,” he said. “I think as part of our educational mission, we need to learn to adopt new technology and figure out a better way to use it. A lot of the leadership has bought into that, starting at the top with Dr. Gold, so that’s been very helpful.”<\/p>\n

The Digital Campus initiative is an example of one reason Dierks enjoys his career at UNMC so much.<\/p>\n

“When I arrived, there were a lot of good things happening, and there still are,” he said. “As long as UNMC is moving forward, which I see happening every day, I like being here and being part of it.”<\/p>\n

Dierks called receiving the Gold U “pretty special,” but he added that his co-workers provide him invaluable support.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, there are a lot of people that are helping me to get this,” he said. “It’s not just an individual effort when you get to that level of achievement.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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