October 5, 2005

New faces, new duties

HANH TRAN, Manager of College Information Systems

She’s not unfamiliar with Mission College, having worked here in 1999-2000 as a computer and network support specialist. Now Hanh Tran returns to the Sylmar campus as the new manager of information technology. With more than 10 years experience in the field at various LACCD campuses, Tran comes most recently from Pierce College, where she served as a senior computer and network support specialist.

Tran has spent her first weeks on the job assessing the college’s technological needs and laying the groundwork for new systems. She expects her biggest challenge to be in finding the funds to keep Mission College on the technological cutting edge.

“I expect the first year to be difficult, convincing the administration to fund the changes I’ll think we need,” she said. “But they’ll improve the college and save us money in the long run.”

Government and private grants focusing on technological improvement may be a possible source of funding, she added.

Some of Tran’s goals include establishing a campus email system that will allow every student to have a Mission College email address. She would also like to establish campus “hot zones” where students can use their laptops or college computers for Internet access while sipping a cup of coffee. This kind of Internet café has caught on at Pierce, and a similar venture could bring additional revenue to Mission College, she said.

– BY EDUARDO PARDO / Photo: Lydia Chung