I have
recently taken the position of Director of Core Technologies in the
Information Technology Services (ITS) Division of UCSC. In this
position I oversee the networking, systems administration, operations,
I.T. security, and telecommunications units for the campus. One
goal of mine in taking this position is to expand the role of I.T. on
campus from that of a purely support organization that is funded by
revenues generated by the activities of faculty, to a combined support
and R&D organization that partners with faculty to find resources
to deliver needed I.T. services. Possible sources of such funding
include infrastructure grants from funding agencies such as NSF, as
well as gifts from private industry. A recent article in the
journal Campus Technology
titled Shifting
Paradigm in Higher Ed IT Orgs: Partners in the Academic Enterprise
describes how this is a recent trend in Higher Ed I.T.
organizations. A concrete example cited in the article is
Purdue's Collaborative
Research and Engagement area within their I.T. organization whose
mission is:
- To promote inter-departmental research collaboration throughout
the University
- To facilitate multi-disciplinary access to state-of-the-science
technologies
- To strengthen linkages between researchers and potential external
collaborators
- To serve underrepresented populations
- To foster technology transfer
- To forge connections and programs that bridge the Digital Divide
I will be working to begin a dialog on campus to explore the potential
of establishing a similar collaboration between I.T. and the academic
mission at UCSC.