UCIT Committee
Newcomb Hall, Room 389
September 29, 1999
Present: Catherine Kane (Chair), John Alexander, Louise Dudley, Tim Gillet, Karen Ryan, Alice Howard, S. Kerbel, Debbie Mills, Steve Nock, Robert Reynolds, M.D., Bob Ribando, N. Rosasco (Student Representative), Tim Sigmon, Tom Spraggins, Prue Thorner, Linda Watson, Penny Rue
Absent: Martha Blodgett, Chip German, Lori Graham, Charlie Grisham, Jeannie Inge, Anita Jones, Laurie Kelsh, Terry Lockard, Bill Randolph, Mitch Rosen, Rip Verkerke, Diane Walker, Alf Weaver, Elliott Weiss, George Williams
Minutes recorded by Cynthia Davis
Opening Remarks and Introductions
Catherine convened the meeting with remarks regarding the continuation of UCIT work begun last year, under the direction of Charlie Grisham, and the future of UCIT. She quickly reviewed the agenda for today’s meeting, the meeting schedule, and then asked everyone to take a moment to introduce themselves.
Perspectives from ITC
Bob Reynolds, Interim Vice President & CIO of Information Technology, gave his perspective in regards to ITC. Bob distributed the ITC Progress Report for 1998-1999. He explained his role in ITC and the status of the search for a permanent Vice President/CIO. He then discussed some of the changes that have occurred in ITC, including the role of the Chief Operations Officer and training manager position. He explained that the focus over the next 12-18 months would include projects like DCI (Desktop Computing Initiative), ISP (Integrated Systems Project), and the newly formed Dean’s Technology Council. Bob also discussed ACHS (Academic Computing for the Health System), its origin and success.
Bob then gave an update on the DCI Announcement, which involves "Phase II" of the project. "Phase I" included replacing approximately 600 computers in labs and libraries. "Phase II" enables the University to offer these machines to students, faculty, departments and staff. Bob elaborated on the details of "Phase II," and gave a brief explanation of how state funds will be allocated for DCI machines.
At present, ETF funds cannot be used to acquire DCI machines. However, this may be something that could change in the future.
Review of Comprehensive Plan
Catherine directed the meeting to the topic of the Comprehensive Strategic Plan for UCIT. The 1st task is to find any changes or refinements to this document. Bob Reynolds thanked Charlie Grisham and previous Committee members for all their hard work on the document as it stands.
Penny Rue raised the issue of how faculty would learn about technology and how students learn the technology. There are a couple of sections that deal with this issue and Catherine suggested that the Committee get feedback from those who will read the draft plan before editing the document.
Another questions posed was regarding what items/departments, particularly the Libraries, would be included since the name of the draft is "Comprehensive" and some areas are not represented. The Committee agreed that describing the contributions of specific departments makes the document too lengthy.
The issue of e-commerce was discussed among the group, and it was agreed that Goal 3 in the document addresses this issue appropriately.
Bob Reynolds asked the Committee to re-address the issue of mentioning the Library in the document. The question is whether the document move forward "as is" and have the libraries added when feedback is received, or to make the change now - before the document is distributed. It was agreed that changes to add the libraries should be done prior to distribution of the document, and this would be included in Goal 4.
Catherine solicited a volunteer to write a paragraph about the libraries and Linda Watson agreed to accomplish this by the end of this week.
The following addition was made to Goal 2B: "and redirecting such resources to unmet needs."
Strategies for dissemination and feedback
Once all the edits have been made, the next step is to get this document to the faculty. It was recommended that the Faculty Senate be utilized to disseminate information to the faculty regarding the document.
A suggestion was also made to have each Chair/Dean assign someone to review the document. It was agreed that the Faculty Senate and an article in Inside UVA would be sufficient distribution of the document. In addition, all groups that are represented at UCIT will make sure that their respective areas give feedback on the document.
The issue of how faculty can reply/respond to the document on the Web was discussed. It was suggested that a reply/respond form open at the same time as the document on-line. Catherine agreed to e-mail Tim Sigmon text for the reply form so that it could be posted on the Web by October 11. The proposed deadline for having the document distributed, feedback collected, and changes made is mid-November. In order to meet this deadline, the process for collecting responses will be closed on October 22 and a review of the final document is scheduled for November 19.
Again the issue of "comprehensive" was discussed and the question was raised if this word should be eliminated from the title of the document. It was agreed that the word comprehensive should be removed from the title.
Future meeting times and agenda items
Catherine reviewed topics to be discussed at upcoming UCIT meetings. One item is the 3-5 year view of Information Technology as presented by Tim Sigmon and Jim Jokl. A questions was raised regarding whether or not faculty research support has been discussed at one of the meetings. It was agreed that this should be one of the upcoming topics. In addition, John Alexander will present information on technology in support of research and education at an upcoming meeting, date to be determined.
Catherine thanked everyone and recommended that any additional items or questions be e-mailed to her. She then adjourned the meeting with confirmation of dates and times of future meetings, which will be the second Wednesday of each month from 12:00 - 1:30pm - location to be announced with agenda.