Seen&Heard: Five Days Smarter

• By Katherine Grayson
• 04/01/05

This July, a handful of days in Hollywood will change the way you see technology on your campus.

Normally, I reserve this column to ruminate about something I’ve “seen and heard” that begs for comment. This month, however, I intend to enthuse shamelessly about something I haven’t yet seen or heard, but can’t wait to: the remarkable lineup of speakers and 40-plus sessions and panels planned for Syllabus2005 in Los Angeles, and at UCLA (July 24-28). Here’s what’s behind our Hollywood “Spotlight on Innovation, Integration & Collaboration.” Just take a look at these keynotes:

If you’re interested in the move to 24/7 learning via mobile devices, you’ll want to hear about Duke University CIO Tracy Futhey’s experiences with “Handheld Andrew” when she was at Carnegie Mellon. (“Andrew” predated but anticipated the network- and location-based services emerging in the industry today.) In her opening keynote, she’ll also give us an insider’s look at Duke’s iPod First-Year Experience, wherein the entire Class of 2008 was outfitted with iPods for academic use.

Is your institution a next-generation catalyst for community-wide technological advancement? If so, you won’t want to miss CIO Lev Gonick’s (Case Western Reserve) talk on OneCleveland—the big, bold, 21st century project that will deliver advanced IT capabilities to communities, to enable them to meet priorities for economic development, learning, job training, research support, preeminence, and distinction.

And if an enterprise-wide project is on your horizon, University of Georgia CIO Barbara White will detail essential building blocks of successful ERP initiatives, with “Good, Bad, and Ugly” examples of strategic readiness and planning, change drivers, knowledge-centric attributes, and leadership.

Is your campus ready for tech-savvy students who demand technology in all aspects of their lives? Join Educause VP Diana Oblinger as she examines these expectations and their implications for campus practices and programs.

Finally, the need to “marry” autonomy to connectedness is at the core of countless campus technology decisions today. So, during our time at UCLA, Syllabus2005 attendees will discover (with the help of associate vice chancellor of IT Jim Davis) how that forward-thinking institution has found the “sweet spots” that merge vision with technology, culture, and process.

If these keynotes intrigue you, glance at the conference brochure in this issue and scan the Syllabus2005 program at www.syllabus.com/summer2005. Technology decision-makers—from CIOs, provosts, VPs, and IT directors, to academic and administrative computing directors, and tech-savvy faculty—will not find campus technology session content this rich anywhere else. This summer’s sessions will give you the takeaways (best practices, networking, hands-on solutions) you’ve hoped for.
Come join us—I’ll be looking for you at Syllabus2005!