Profile: Jacob Wen
Jacob Wen is the classroom technology administrator on the Lab Operations team in IT. He and his team support 650 computers and more than 100 mobile devices in Boston, LA, and the Netherlands.
He selects the models and hardware specifications of computers that are used for courses being taught in classrooms and labs. He also handles the installation of software, including browsers, Microsoft Office, Adobe Premiere, and Pro Tools. Every summer, he and his team create a new “software build,” making sure all software is cleanly updated for the fall semester.
Wen works with academic departments to determine what their curricular computer hardware and software needs are. Sometimes this entails working directly with faculty and students to make such decisions as which software should be installed on computers in a particular location. Wen and his team also work with faculty to identify which software settings should be turned on by default; this saves faculty and students time in the classroom.
Another of his responsibilities is to help set up and configure servers that manage things such as remote/automatic software deployment, paid printing, and software license distribution. He and his team also support most public-use computers, including computers in conference rooms, digital signage, kiosks, and printers. They fix and replace broken equipment, and create refresh cycles so that computers are replaced every four to five years.
Wen has been at Emerson for six and a half years. He’s been grateful for the chance to expand his skillset while at Emerson; he said that his technical proficiency on a number of IT-related subjects has grown. He’s also appreciated the opportunity to work with the many students who staff the IT Help Desk.
Prior to arriving at Emerson, he was an IT manager at a television production company in Somerville, MA. During his time there, he helped produce programming for networks such as Discovery, Animal Planet, and the Travel Channel.
Wen is a native of Nashua, NH, and graduated from Emerson with a BA in Film Production in 2010, after transferring from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and UNH Manchester. Coincidentally, the person he replaced at Emerson was a high school classmate.
His passion for technology extends to his personal life as well; he enjoys building and playing with computers in his spare time. He is also an avid movie fan and loves movie soundtracks. “I have seen John Williams in concert more times than I can count,” he said. Baking is another favorite hobby of his, and he can often be found trying (unsuccessfully) to give away sourdough bread starters to his coworkers.
Nancy Howell (Communications and Marketing)