December 2006

Spotlight on Staff: Carolyn Chase

Carolyn Chase, a member of the GW family since 1973, is the new director of ISS Technology Services.

By Zak M. Salih

A fourth-generation Washingtonian, Carolyn Chase was recently appointed director of Information Systems and Services (ISS) Technology Services. Her areas of responsibility include client services, the ISS Help Desk, and console traffic operations, with oversight over student technology services and software education and training.

In addition to the 52 employees she oversees, Chase is the mother of three children and the grandmother of six. An employee of the University since 1973, she started working as a page operator in the GW Hospital for $3.18/hour.

Q: How has technology changed since you first came here, and where do you see it going?

A: Technology has really come a long way from the ’70s and ’80s. Back when I came on board, the University and medical center were using two separate public branch exchange telephone systems. When a new system was implemented, its features—like call holding, call forwarding, and call pickup—were things people had never seen before.

The next generation in communication is voice-over Internet protocol (VOIP): transmitting high-speed voice and data simultaneously. It will give us a lot more flexibility with off-campus locations on K and L streets. We don’t own these buildings, so we are at the mercy of the local phone company to provide services. We have the technology, but we have to get our network ready to support all of this.

Q: If you could survive on one type of food for the next two years, what would it be?

A: Chicken, because I can cook it any kind of way. Because I shouldn’t have it, I love fried chicken, but I also enjoy it broiled with lots of seasonings and cooked on the grill. My husband cooks on the grill regardless of the weather. During the holidays, we smoke a turkey on the grill.

Q: How did you meet your husband?

A: He’s the boy next door. I met him my last year in school. He came home after being in the French Riviera on the USS Essex for two years. His parents moved next door to us while he was gone, and his mom wrote to him about me. I met him when he returned in 1968, and it was a whirlwind romance. We dated for about a year and got married in 1969; then he went to Vietnam for a year.

Q: Name two things you would bring to a deserted island. No one will judge you if you don’t say your husband.

A: [Laughs] I would definitely bring a portable radio, because I need to be able to hear the Motown sound. And probably snacks. I love Utz classic potato chips.

Q: What’s your favorite movie?

A: I’m a horror film buff, and I think the best movie of all times is
The Exorcist. I think it’s brilliantly made and one of the eeriest movies I’ve ever seen.

Q: If someone called you tomorrow and said you had the day off, how would you spend it?

A: I would take my dad to Charlestown, W.Va. We both like to play slot machines, and because he doesn’t get to go that often, if we got a day off, that’s what I would like to do.

Q: If you could go somewhere in the world you’ve never been, where would it be?

A: Las Vegas. I’ve never been there because I don’t fly. My kids have promised me that when I retire, they will take me to Las Vegas.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu