Brian Edmond

Greetings! My name is Brian Edmond. I have worked for Missouri State, Computer Services - MIS since September 2003. I was hired as the Systems Analyst for Admissions and Recruiting, then moved on to Course Management and Registration. I'm currently a Senior Systems Analyst and leader of the Student and Academic Team. A complete and recently updated curriculum vitae is available on-line.

Missouri State University has recently completed a Banner implementation. My role during the project was to keep the MIS team moving along with Banner and any other projects that happened to come our way. Now, we are adapting to life with Banner as we make preparations to move to Banner 8 over Memorial Day Weekend 2010. We are definitely interested in collaborating with other institutions on Banner-related projects. From our perspective, having a common system baseline puts us in a position to help each other. Read more in the MOKABUG and HELIX presentations below for two such possible collaborations. Email me if you are interested!

I love computers. Of course, I'm familiar with Microsoft Windows (aren't we all?), but I also run Mac OS X Leopard on an iMac. My main workstation runs Windows 7 64-bit in a virtual machine (VM: Best. Idea. Ever). With the magic of VM, I am able to easily access several versions of Windows while on campus or literally anywhere.

While not at work, I'm often spending my time working with open source software. I'm not much of a C programmer, but I'm an idealist when it comes to information, software, and freedom. As a result, I spend much of my free computing time learning Kubuntu Linux and other open source software. My favorites include Amarok, Apache, Bluefish, Firefox, OpenArena, PHP, PostgreSQL, Python, Quantum GIS, and of course The Gimp. I've recently started investigating the work of the Kuali Foundation and trying to determine if it could be a potential fit for Missouri State. I'm optimistic that we can make it work here and I hope we get started on it soon!

I am also interested in designing and coding web pages so I learn as much HTML and CSS as I can. I even use some JavaScript tricks from time-to-time! JavaScript is great, but I don't rely on it to render pages or do other heavy lifting because I consider that a bad practice. Plenty of folks want to use the 'net without relying on JavaScript and things should work without it. Client-side scripting should be used to enhance a site, not create it! This trend is particularly disturbing when a site expects visitors to run scripts that originate from a dozen different domains. Who wants to think of the security implications of that? Visit one of the sites that I manage (see next paragraph) and you will see that they will display correctly with or without JavaScript. Sure, you won't get all the bells and whistles, but you don't have to compromise your security standards to visit.

When I'm not working at Missouri State or with computers, I enjoy doing anything outdoors, including hiking, camping, kayaking, and exploring new areas. I have a secret life as a field biologist. As such, I'm an active member and webmaster for the Missouri Herpetological Assocation and a contributing author and webmaster for the Atlas of Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles. I manage the content and design for the Midwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (MWPARC) site as a volunteer webmaster. Recently, I've become involved with the Missouri Native Plant Society as the Board Representative for the newly-resurrected Springfield-based Southwest Chapter and pitched an idea to the Board for a statewide plant locality database that is currently under consideration. I also run an active weather station (MO-GR-75) with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).

If you wish to contact me, my e-mail is BrianEdmond@MissouriState.edu. You can also find me on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by!