Lookin’ at U – Lee Trant

Each Thursday, we randomly feature a medical center employee. This week, we learn more about:

• Name: Lee Trant
• Hometown: Born in northeast Kansas, I currently live on our small farm near Crescent, Iowa.
• No. of years at UNMC: Closing in on 30 years at UNMC.

Tell us a bit about what you do here at UNMC.
I am the associate director of application services within ITS, and help a team of 16 talented ITS professionals develop and/or support a large number of computer systems used by faculty, staff, and students at UNMC. Many were developed within application services and others are purchased applications that we help support. We also automated the processes for creating network accounts for all faculty, staff, and students, and became the first institution in the United States to reach bronze certification within the Internet2 / InCommon Federation. Some of the more well-known applications developed at UNMC include ADIS, CARE, eServ (including Parking, Employee Recognition programs, and Training Requirements), Management Resources (including Accounts Receivables, Metrics, and Sub-System Billing), Research Support Services (including the IRB application, soon to be released IACUC application, and Core Facilities), Seguidor, the UNMC Phone Directory, and many others.

Working together is one of UNMC’s brand values. Tell us of a time that you have experienced people working together at UNMC.
The typical application lifecycle requires a great number of different interactions of people working together. A good example of this was how Yvette Holly brought together a large number of people to create UNMC’s first mobile application last summer. After receiving the charge from the executive sponsor, Dr. Gold, she involved several individuals from the Student Senate, Public Relations, Business and Finance, and Academic Affairs to define the application requirements, select and purchase the programming framework, develop and test the many modules within the app, and ultimately make it available in the Apple Store and Google Play. Application Services helped develop some of the modules; LEIS and Public Relations developed other components. All told, this project involved a large number of people working together to complete the project in just a few short weeks.

What is your favorite spring activity?
I enjoy starting various plants from seed in the late winter for gardening during the spring and summer. This year, we have transplanted more than 150 plants spread over 17 different varieties of peppers and eight varieties of tomatoes.