By Apryl Motley – Communications Consultant, MS-CC
Editor’s Note: This Q&A continues off our series of short interviews spotlighting members of the MS-CC community. Be on the lookout for additional interviews each month, and email Apryl Motley if there’s an MS-CC community member you would like us to spotlight in the future or if you would like to be in the spotlight yourself. We appreciate community members and all they do to move our mission forward.
Terry Haygood serves as the cyberinfrastructure (CI) facilitator at Jackson State University (JSU) in Mississippi. According to him, “there are several very enjoyable aspects of the job, such as being able to facilitate change across the JSU campus and beyond and contributing to the growth of research at JSU.”
Terry has been an employee at JSU since 2023 and a student since 2016. He earned a B.S. degree in computer science from the university and is scheduled to graduate from its M.S. program in computer science in December.
What MS-CC resource is especially useful to him? “The resource that I find especially useful is access to domain and technical experts,” he noted, “whether through working groups, conferences, annual meetings, or communities of practice.”
Read on to learn more about his participation in the MS-CC.
More About Terry Haygood
His personal Motto or Mantra: Any job worth doing is worth doing well.
Best Advice He Ever Received (& from whom): Don’t Quit! (from his father)
How does participation in the MS-CC help you in your current role?
The wisdom of the MS-CC Proof of Concept Grant allows for the hiring of JSU’s first full-time cyberinfrastructure facilitator to connect the essential elements of the research enterprise. Typically, many smaller institutions do not have the funding to invest in a role that is not critical to IT operations. This role builds upon my education in computer science and economics and my work experience as a liaison between engineering groups and accounting teams while in the U.S. Air Force.
Working with the MS-CC team has enabled me to expand my knowledge and skills even further as we embark upon coordinating the efforts between network engagement, research & education (R&E) facilitation, and stakeholder alignment. The mission of the role is to enhance the communication between JSU IT professionals, researchers, educators, and stakeholders to increase collaboration, grow research, and expand workforce development activities at JSU as it relates to CI.
How did your institution first become involved with the MS-CC?
Our CIO is Dr. Deborah Dent, who currently serves as chair of the MS-CC Consortium Leadership Board, is one of the founding members of the MS-CC, and co-principal investigator on the MS-CC grant. She is well-known throughout the IT/CIO community, has also served on the NSF Advisory Committee for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (ACCI), and is an advocate for the work the MS-CC does.
What would you say to encourage other institutions to participate in the MS-CC?
There are only advantages to participating in the MS-CC. The personnel at the MS-CC are extremely talented and capable of adjusting to the workloads and demands of available staff and are nimble in the changing nature of global environments.
Why does participation in the MS-CC continue to be important for you/your institution?
Participation in the MS-CC is important as we continue to introduce more of the JSU staff, faculty, and students to opportunities for training, workforce development, and technology trends within academia and industry.The MS-CC pushes the institution to incorporate best practices with regard to network engagement, R&E facilitation, and stakeholder alignment.