"The best technical work is also the most human-centered work."
I'm Bob Griffith — a Senior Systems and Data Analyst in the Office of the Registrar at Oakland University, where I've spent years at the intersection of higher education administration and enterprise technology. My work is about making complex systems intelligible: turning raw Banner data into actionable insights, building reporting infrastructure that advisers and administrators can actually use, and training the people who depend on these systems every day.
The Technical Side
My core expertise lies in Ellucian Banner ERP, Degree Works degree audit, Argos reporting, Oracle SQL, and PowerBI. Over 15+ years in higher education technology — including more than a decade at Ferris State University — I've built deep institutional knowledge of how student information systems work at scale. I write complex SQL queries in Toad for Oracle, develop Argos DataBlocks and reports, configure Degree Works scribe language and audits, and build PowerBI dashboards that translate legacy data into modern visualizations.
As President-Elect and Webmaster for the Banner User Group of Michigan (BUG-MI), I'm part of a community of higher ed professionals across Michigan who share solutions, best practices, and the occasional war story. I help plan our annual conference and manage the group's web presence — it's one of the most genuinely collaborative professional communities I've been part of.
The Design Background
Before higher education technology took over, I studied Graphic Design. That foundation never really goes away — it still shapes how I approach every report layout, training document, and system interface I work with. I believe clear visual communication is just as important in a data system as it is in a poster or publication. The best reports aren't just accurate; they're readable.
The Doctorate
I hold an Ed.D. in Community College Leadership from Ferris State University — a degree that deepened my understanding of how higher education institutions work, how they change, and what makes technology adoption succeed or fail in academic environments. That perspective informs everything from how I design training programs to how I approach stakeholder communication around new systems.
Beyond the Office
When I'm not neck-deep in Banner tables or writing SQL queries, you'll find me fishing, hunting, or out on the pontoon. I bowl in a weekly league, collect movies, follow Star Wars and Marvel obsessively, and I take pub trivia way too seriously. (Ask me about the time I won solo under "Party of One.") I'm also a proud girl dad and golden doodle dad.