Sam Barr Retirement Reception
Thursday, March 31, 2022 - 1:30 pm
Sam Barr, Senior Information Technology Specialist at IT-Client Services, is retiring this April.
Sam has spent his entire career at UNI following his college graduation in 1984. His first year was spent in what was then Academic Computer Services where he created a system for the networking team to track cabling across campus.
Sam was moved to Financial Aid in 1985 to take care of their growing need for computer help. His first computer (the only one in a department full of dumb terminals) had a 20MB hard drive and 640KB of memory. Data were transmitted via phone modems to the Iowa College Aid Commission. Over the course of fifteen years he counseled students, managed the Pell Grant and Student Loans programs, created reports, responded to data requests, served as the president of the Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and became an Assistant Director. Two notable accomplishments were the creation of student employment tracking system and a web job board, both of which predated those in MyUniverse (and Google). There were times, such as in preparation for the Year 2000, where he was enlisted to assist in updating the COBOL programs that ran the Financial Aid system on the mainframe.
In the spring of 2000 Sam was hired as the technology coordinator for the division of Student Affairs, which at the time encompassed ten departments. If it plugged in, needed to be saved, or lived on the web, there is a good chance he and his team took care of it. His most fond memories are of the people who make this campus a great place to work.
Save the date: Please help us celebrate Sam's retirement from UNI! The reception will be Thursday, March 31st, 2022, from 1:30 - 4:30 pm in the ITTC 2nd floor open area (formerly East Gym swimming pool area).
Location: ITTC 2nd floor open area
Contact Information
Name: MICHAEL WILSON
Email: MICHAEL.WILSON@uni.edu
Phone: (319) 273-7617
Link to Event: NA