Spotlight on… Christopher Dechter: Manager, Instructional Technology, University of Wyoming
Connect with Chris:
Twitter (Personal): https://www.twitter.com/cdechter
LinkedIn (Personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdechter
Twitter (AVSF): https://www.twitter.com/AVSuperFriends
LinkedIn (AVSF): https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends/
Web (AVSF): https://www.avsuperfriends.com
Thank you for joining me for this month’s edition of the “Tech Manager Spotlight.” Start by telling us a little about what you do and a little about your background.
I’m the Manager of Instructional Technology at the University of Wyoming where my team is responsible for all learning spaces and conference spaces across campus. This year marks 20 years in some form of IT and AV at various organizations. Here’s to another 20!
Have you always worked in AV? What did the path look like for you to get to where you are now?
I’ll give that a qualified “yes.” I started in IT, as the “IT guy” for the faculty development office where I worked directly with instructors and professors on grant-funded technology projects to integrated technology into their teaching. This was 20+ years ago, so much of that was web and multimedia, but I also deployed PCs, managed servers, and set up projectors and PAs. I then took a position working in proper AV and basically never left. I started as a technician (and cart pusher) and moved on to design, consulting, engineering, project management, and now management. When opportunities arose, I moved on to other institutions, which has allowed me to see a whole lot of the country.
What is your morning routine?
I’m a morning person, so I’m up at 430a. I used to read the paper cover to cover, but newspapers don’t exist so now I read RSS feeds (and I might be the last person using those) and still get to work before the first classes of the day.
What does an average weekday look like for you?
I practice defensive calendar scheduling to keep others from booking me for meetings, and I try to set aside 2-3 hours a day for engineering. I start the workday with a 15-30 minute stand-up meeting with my team to review issues from the day before, tasks for the day ahead, and upcoming projects. Then it’s wall to wall project work, meetings, consultations, admin, troubleshooting, and engineering. Weekday evenings are for not-work, and I set Outlook and Teams to not bother me.
What does your busiest day look like? What are the challenges your role faces, and how do you overcome those?
My busiest days are those that end with “y.” Over the past decade, UW very successfully outsourced all the knowledge work of AV, so I’m bringing that all back in house. That also means I have to rebuild relationships with academic and administrative departments who feel disenfranchised or have been directed to outside integrators instead of internal IT staff for AV items. In addition, I have a junior (but enthusiastic) staff, so I must keep an eye on support tickets, build staff skills, and handle all the fun time admin duties that comes with middle management.
What do you enjoy doing on weekends? How do you spend your time outside of work?
I generally work a half-day on Saturday or Sunday to keep ahead of things and the remainder of my weekends are tied up with another live podcast I co-host and produce, church activities, and hobbies (I’m currently building a dining room set). That’s all you’ll get for details—I keep my personal and work lives separate.
What energizes you and inspires you?
Something new to explore—especially if there’s a large community or industry around it. Over the years, I’ve been into computers, cars, shooting sports, podcasting, streaming, cooking, backpacking, etc. I like reading about topics and learning as much as I can before buying a car, for example.
If another tech manager were to follow you around all day, what would they be most surprised by? What would they learn?
I stand up for all my meetings and calls.
Tell us about the project you are currently working on now?
Like most schools, UW leveraged CARES funding to upgrade a lot of learning spaces, so my current project is going through all the spaces that didn’t make the cut and determining solutions for them. I’ve been referring to it as “fixing the worst spaces on campus.” It’ll be a multi-year project, but fun to transform an entire campus. In addition, I’ve inherited an entire campus that needs a lot of TLC and rack and wiring cleanup.
Comparing your career path over time, what are some of the moments, accomplishments, or projects that you’re most proud of?
Honestly, any opportunity I get to speak to a large group of peers is a proud moment—especially when I get positive feedback. If y’all only knew that I’m just making it up as I go along…
You’ve been involved with many higher ed and AV-industry orgs, including creating the AV SuperFriends. Talk about why you get involved in the way you do and how that is impacting our vertical?
You could probably classify it as a “put up or shut up” decision—that is, if I’m going to shoot my mouth off about a topic, I might as well share it with others. For whatever reason, people seem to respond positively to my brutal honesty, so I keep doing it.
Where do you see your career, podcasting, etc., going in the next five years? Where do you envision yourself?
(This is a terribly trite question.) I’ll keep climbing the institutional ladder, learning everything I can about educational technology, stealing from those who do it better, and sharing with anyone who will listen.
What is your life motto and how do you apply it to your daily routine?
No one owes you anything and no one is going to help you through life, so buck up and do it yourself. If you fail, it’s your fault. Tough sh*t.