Note: The accomplishments listed on this page are current as of Fall 2018.

Miranda Carney-Morris

Miranda Carney-Morris is currently the Director of Educational Technology at Lewis & Clark College. She has led the department for the last four years and is responsible for implementing and promoting the effective use of educational technology and partnering with faculty to explore emerging technologies. She plans and implements faculty development programming, manages academic systems, supervises emerging technology pilots, and incorporates new technologies into standard offerings all with the goal of creating an environment that encourages the creative and independent use of educational technology at the college.

Prior to the formation of the Educational Technology division, Miranda spent over 15 years directly supporting instructional technology use in the Social Sciences, established the Faculty Technology Sandbox, and coordinated multiple faculty development events. To her instructional support position, Miranda brought a strong customer service background from over ten years of retail experience, primarily as the manager of Lewis & Clark’s Computer Store and Purchase Program.  

Trevor Murphy

Trevor Murphy is an Instructional Technology Specialist at Williams College.

Service to SIGUCCS: Trevor attended his first SIGUCCS conference in the fall of 2001 in Portland, Oregon. He made a courageous effort to be a detached observer by attending sessions and then hiding out in his hotel room to recharge. Longtime SIGUCCS members had seen such antisocial behavior before. Not to be outwitted they intervened by learning his name and talking to him every time he made an appearance. They insisted that he be socially engaged and participate in networking and the exchange of ideas. Eventually worn down by their efforts, and with no place to hide, Trevor had little choice but to volunteer. He landed in the program committee.

From 2001 to 2016 he wrote 14 papers. He would often simultaneously juggle the positions of track chair, author, and reader. For three of those years he was the Communication Awards Chair and attended board meetings as a non-voting member. He was Program Co-Chair for the Norfolk, VA fall conference in 2010. His main contribution to the Norfolk conference was singing ballads about mermaids and ships that sunk at sea until the conference committee censored him.

Service to higher education and the computing profession: Trevor has worked as an Instructional Technology Specialist at Williams College for 17 years. He helps Williams College faculty use technology in their teaching and research. He also trains and manages student workers and maintains a music technology lab. His contribution to the computing profession has focused on encouraging others to share their ideas at SIGUCCS conferences. He would often co-author papers and co-present sessions. One of his papers for SIGUCCS was titled “Read, write, and present for ACM SIGUCCS conferences,” where he explained the various roles for program committee volunteers and gave tips for new authors.

Trevor’s Comments: SIGUCCS is a volunteer organization with many enthusiastic contributing members. To be selected to be included in the SIGUCCS Hall of Fame is an honor. I was surprised to be nominated. I would not have been as engaged with the program committee without the efforts of conference attendees who constantly brought me into conversations, introduced me to people, and gave me opportunities to be part of the organization. My advice is to let yourself be drawn into SIGUCCS, then write a paper and tell us what you have been working on.

Mo Nishiyama

Mo Nishiyama is a Technical Writer at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

Service to SIGUCCS: Mo attended his first SIGUCCS conference in Fall 2005 (Monterey, California). He first presented a poster session in Fall 2016 (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), and has attended twelve SIGUCCS conferences (including 2018 Orlando). Since 2011, he has presented at least one session at SIGUCCS conferences, and contributed to bringing Lightning Talks presentation format to SIGUCCS conferences. Mo has served on the conference committees of 2017 Seattle and 2018 Orlando conferences.

Service to higher education and the computing profession: Mo has worked in higher education information technology support for over 20 years, taking on several roles at OHSU, including Desktop Support Technician, Mac Suppport Technician, Help Desk Analyst, Field Technology Analyst, and now Technical Writer. He has long strived to bring “voice of the customer” to the IT organization, and works to make technology understandable and accessible to the organizaton’s customers. In his daily work, he takes great pleasure in working with—and bringing together—diverse teams within the IT organization, and promoting a close-knit, inclusive culture in the workplace. Mo has also mentored other technical writers. Mo is also active with Write the Docs technical writing community, and is currently a co-organizer of the community’s Portland Meetup chapter. In addition to SIGUCCS, Mo has presented at various conferences and events, including Write the Docs, World Domination Summit, PechaKucha Night Portland, and Ignite Portland.

Mo’s Comments: It is such a great honor to be included in the SIGUCCS Hall of Fame. I’ve always had utmost respect and appreciation for the members of the community who have significantly contributed to this great professional organization. SIGUCCS has helped transform me from a somewhat disgruntled higher education IT employee into a energized and motivated individual contributor, and this would not have happened without the endless encouragement of the community members—many of whom I have become good friends with. It is a wonderful privilege to learn from extraordinary peers, and take back vast amounts of knowledge back to my school after each conference.

Gail Rankin

Gail Rankin has been active in SIGUCCS since 1999. While comfortable at the podium, you are more likely to find her at the volunteer table or assisting in the background. Her SIGUCCS passions are working on the marketing committee and serving in the mentorship program where she is also an advisory board member.

Outside of SIGUCCS, she is a Certified Blackboard Trainer who has served as a judge for Blackboard ECP Exemplary Course Awards, Quality Peer Reviewer, and presenter for NERCOMP, OLC, Instructure, and other higher education organizations.

Gail has contributed to the IT profession as a leader, and mentor for over 25 years. Currently the Director of Educational Technology, Faculty Support, and Training, at Salem State University, she is responsible for Academic Technology initiatives including development and support for the LMS system, online learning, implementation of new e-learning products and tools, integrating technology into the curriculum, and faculty training. Her technology experience also includes ten years as Director of User Support, with extensive service management experience in desktop support, learning space support and design, instructional technology, technology acquisition, training, documentation and communication. Prior to coming to higher education, she spent ten years industry as a COO of a private consulting firm.

Her strategic interdisciplinary collaborative projects have allowed the university to migrate to a new LMS on time and under budget while expanding services to faculty and increasing faculty LMS adoption by an additional 25%. She was instrumental in integrating assessment into the Learning Management System to create an easy-to-use assessment system with the School of Business Assessment Group that has become a popular model in several University departments and programs. Most recently, she is working the development of online services for faculty and student research and scholarship.

She is the author of articles on leadership, mentorship, and online learning. In her free time, she is an avid reader, kayaker and designs wedding gowns. Catch up with her at grankin@salemstate.edu.