"There are still some little things to be worked out, but the principles for working things out are agreed upon," he says. "Things have changed a lot."
But some say it is still to early to tell whether the more decentralized model will prove to be more successful.
"Whenever you do things like this, you find some bathwater and some babies," Proctor says. "But this situation is still too emotional to find out how much of each they may have thrown out.... They may have just eliminated the bathroom."
Information Technology Series at a Glance:
TODAY
Harvard's administration has emphasized decentralization of information technology, a move epitomized by changes made in the Office of Information Technology's (OIT) staff and mission. Indeed, OIT's replacement, University Information Systems, focuses on serving the schools, not promoting a centralized vision.
TOMORROW
Most of the support, training and planning for information technology and academic computing at Harvard is handled by individual departments and schools, leading to a highly decentralized system throughout the University which hinders coordination and communication among Harvard's disparate schools and centers.
THURSDAY
Decentralization is troubling for the FAS and its support arm--the Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services (HASCS), which has been plagued by technical problems. HASCS's focus on simply keeping the systems operating prevents the FAS and HASCS from creating and following a larger vision for information technology.