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Position: OIT Support Analyst, Academic, User & Device Support (AUDS)
Time spent in OIT: 2 years
Not many IT professionals can trace their career back to a newspaper ad sales desk. Chris Magher can. Twelve years and several Duke roles later, he now brings a unique mix of creativity, technical expertise, and genuine warmth to his role supporting various Duke departments with their tech-related needs.
What he does for OIT:
As an IT support analyst with Academic, User & Device Support (AUDS), Chris is responsible for a range of Duke departments, including Duke Postal Services, the Student Wellness Building, assists with Duke University Police Department, and research groups across campus. He also assists with support for Duke University Police Department. Each day, he monitors and responds to tickets through ServiceNow, triaging issues by urgency and working toward resolutions.
“If Student Wellness calls and says all the computers at the nurse’s station are down, that’s a major problem because it impedes patient care,” Chris said. “Whereas if I’ve got ten tickets for something like Adobe access, those are obviously important, but they’re lower on the ranking.”
Beyond tickets, Chris manages inventory and surplus for his departments, tracking devices like computers, printers, and displays, and coordinating replacements when warranties expire through vendors like Lenovo, Dell, and Apple.
Supporting the Student Wellness Building comes with an added layer of complexity. Because the building is shared between the University and Duke Health, Chris works closely with a Duke Health IT counterpart to navigate HIPAA considerations whenever patient data is involved—something his experience in Duke’s health system prepared him well for.
What he enjoys about his work:
For Chris, the most satisfying moments come from untangling complex, multi-layered problems that may not seem so obvious at first.
“It’s like a zipper,” Chris said. “Little parts come together to form one big solution. And once the path has been traced, if a problem like that comes up again, you can follow it.”
He also enjoys onboarding new hires and being one of the first Duke employees a new person interacts with.
“I love working here, and I get to share that,” he said. “I’ll tell them about the food hall and things around Durham—not just the systems we work with, but fun things too.”
Chris is also quick to push back on stereotypes about IT workers.
“There’s a misconception about what an IT person looks like. Nobody I work with here is gruff or monotone or antisocial. We
are very capable people, but we are also filled with a lot of great character. I hope I add to that.”
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Where the day takes shape:
Chris’ mornings start with getting his three kids ready for school while already checking incoming tickets and messages. Once they’re off, he heads to the office at 301 Swift. He skips breakfast, and when lunch rolls around it's often paired with an energy drink to power through the afternoon. For lunch, Chris either heads home or grabs a bite around Durham.
“I can go home and get something to eat,” he said, “But if I’m out and about, I’ll probably go to Guasaca. Or I might hit up Whole Foods. Their hot bar is actually pretty fire.”
On his ride home, Chris cycles between podcasts and music. His current rotation includes Stavvy’s World, a comedian who focuses on inclusion and happiness, and Last Podcast on the Left, which covers true crime and science fiction. Music-wise, his tastes run wide.
“I listen to lots of rap, lots of rock,” he said, with recent heavy rotation including metal and film soundtracks, like Interstellar and Skyrim.
Where work ends:
After work, Chris shifts into family mode. With three kids, evenings are for family time like movies, sports, or just hanging out together. In the kitchen, Chris loves to experiment. He lends towards hearty dishes in the cold weather, including beef stews, baked chicken with vegetables, and pasta. On weekends, he gives himself permission to improvise.
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“I know this thing is good and this thing is good, so I put them together to see how it goes,” he said. His latest experiment involves marinating chicken in pickle brine for fried chicken sandwiches.
When he has time to decompress, Chris turns to video games. He currently plays Satisfactory, a large-scale engineering and logistics puzzle game. He also enjoys winding down by sketching, or watching other artists sketch on Twitch, a popular streaming platform.
"It's like watching mycelia grow," Chris said. “Where growth and correction happen quickly, it’s the same for sketching and creating art - erasing and starting over with the knowledge you've got to connect with an idea. Seeing people figure out a problem, especially with art, is fascinating. "