From Faculty Academy 2008 Wiki
[edit] Plenary Panel Discussion: A Conversation with the University Committee on Digital Initiatives
Convener: Jeff McClurken, Chair
Committee Members: Martha Burtis, Gardner Campbell, Teresa Coffman, Tom Fallace, Leanna Giancarlo, Tom McNulty, Brian Rizzo, Carolyn Parsons
At this session, the members of the ad-hoc University Committee on Digital Initiatives will present a preliminary version of their findings and look to the audience for feedback and conversation about the current state and future path of digital initiatives at UMW. This feedback will help influence the final report of the committee to be given to the Provost and, eventually, our new University President.
UMW Digital Resources Wiki. http://umwhistory.org/diginit/.
Preliminary Report of the Committee -- MS Word or PDF
Final Report of the Committee -- MS Word or PDF
[edit] For Further Reading
Primary documents
1. Report of the National Science Foundation Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure (2003).
2. Follow-up report from the NSF: Cyberinfrastructure Vision for 21st Century Discovery (March, 2007).
3. Report on cyberinfrastructure in the humanities and social sciences sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies, Our Cultural Commonwealth (Fall, 2006).
4. ACLS Commission on Cyberinfrastructure.
Commentary
1. The special December, 2007 issue of Academic Commons is entirely devoted to considering “Our Cultural Commonwealth.”
Return to the Conference Program
Notes from FA Q&A
- What if students, faculty, staff want to create their own space using non-UMW spaces? How do we manage and support these kinds of external activities?
Recommendations focused not on putting in place more UMW systems, but developing a deeper understanding.
- How do we get to the vision this report illustrates?
- What propels us forward is not a machine but us -- a commitment to our own values and this new medium. Mindfulness.
- Part of the point of YOTDC: start conversations in a wider community (on-campus, off-campus). Just bringing this committee together has been revelatory. We need to widen that conversation.
- Can we do this on the side? Need full-time commitment.
- Leadership: President, CIO, Provost
- Urgency in the form of real leadership
- Most of our colleagues are closer to being here than we may realize. This is about teaching and our commitment to our students.
- Bring this to our President.
- Catalyze the community
- Pedagogical issue: education as a process/network vs. as a line
- Teaching aspects of this conversation need to extend beyond year
- Make the FAAR reflect these values in some way
- Time needs to be created for faculty to engage with these issues (fellowships, course releases, other procedures)
- Creating of more media production spaces to capture student activities
- We don't know where "there" is. It's going to keep moving forward. This isn't about manufacturing something but about vision and leadership
- We'll never get everyone involved -- maybe that's not the point.
- Accountability
- Audit of our internal controls (in terms of technology)
- Deal with existing vision
- About where we are now
- shocked when talking to colleagues at other universities by how little technology enters into the conversation
- happy to have resources we do have
- also important for recruiting faculty -- how do we initiate them into this culture
- Leapfrog effect--our lack of resources has forced us to think strategically and imaginatively
- In order to get critical mass, we need to embrace both the visionary and the mundane
