Managing People & Directories
A University Ecosystem Perspective
People are the University
The people of the University of Arizona teach students, advance research, and serve communities across the state and beyond.
Many people contribute to more than one department and appear on more than one website. Our approach to directories reflects that.
Quickstart helps units present their people in ways that fit their mission, while supporting consistency across the university.
Governance Principles for People Data
When managing People in Quickstart, keep these ideas in mind:
- Start with official university data when it exists.
- Avoid rewriting the same biography in multiple places.
- Keep one main profile for each person, and add context where needed.
- Share responsibility, but follow a common structure.
- Set up directories in ways that will still work as your unit grows or changes.
Available Data Sources
Quickstart supports multiple models for managing people. Units may use these independently or in combination, depending on their needs.
Enterprise Directory Services (EDS)
Enterprise Directory Services (EDS) provides official employment data and can serve as a baseline for importing faculty and staff.
EDS includes core institutional information such as name, title, email address, phone number, pronouns (if available), and organizational affiliation.
EDS does not include photos, biographies, research descriptions, or other narrative content. For most units, it should be viewed as a starting point rather than a complete directory solution.
Imported fields may be edited locally when appropriate.
UA Profiles
UA Profiles provides faculty-managed academic and research profiles.
This is the recommended approach for faculty profiles.
When a faculty member maintains a UA Profile, importing that information reduces the need to recreate biographies across multiple websites.
To maintain consistency, imported profile content is managed within UA Profiles rather than edited locally on your website.
Learn more: UA Profiles Integration Guide
Profile Editor Role (Self-Service Editing)
The Profile Editor role allows individuals to update their own pages.
This approach is appropriate when:
- A unit maintains a large directory with engaged faculty and staff
- Adoption of UA Profiles is low within your department
This model allows site owners to share the workload of managing Persons.
Learn more: Profile Editor Documentation
Defining Groups
Groups can be defined using institutional data sources, including:
- Organizational affiliation
- Department codes
- Grouper groups
- Any combination of the above (additions or exclusions)
This approach can be used for automating the creation of groups to support:
- EDS imports
- UA Profiles imports
- Provisioning Profile Editors
Automated group definitions help ensure that directory membership reflects institutional reality and updates as structures evolve.
Learn more: Group Configuration Guide
Manual Creation and Editing
People may also be created and managed entirely within a site.
This approach is appropriate for:
- External collaborators
- Visiting scholars
- Individuals without institutional records
- Temporary affiliations
Manual management provides flexibility when institutional systems do not apply.
Learn more: Manual Person Management Guide
Canonical Profiles and External Bio Linking
If a Person should appear in a unit's directory, but their primary affiliation is in another department, add the link to an external bio not found on your website.
This pattern:
- Reduces duplication of biographies
- Maintains consistency across colleges and programs
- Allows individuals to appear in multiple websites without maintaining competing profiles
- Supports long-term institutional coherence
Units retain flexibility in how people are presented locally, while core identity information remains centralized.
Choosing the Right Approach
When determining how to manage People, consider:
- Is the person a university employee?
- Do they maintain a UA Profile?
- Should updates occur automatically?
- Is the affiliation long-term or temporary?
- Will the person appear on multiple sites?
Recommended Default
- Link to a canonical profile when available.
- Import faculty and staff from EDS.
- Augment with UA Profiles.
- Use the Profile Editor role for people without UA Profiles.
- Manually create and manage People when institutional sources are not available.
This approach supports shared institutional identity while allowing units to meet their specific needs.