Vice Provost’s Open Forum
The agenda for the next forum on August 19th can be found here. Please RSVP to Kristen if you are able to attend.
Days Away to Plan
There is no doubt that change is happening in and around our organization and our ability to adapt and keep an eye on our purposeful path will take some creative thinking. I know many of you have already made adjustments to how you do your work as individuals and units, so I believe this is a good time to continue to do that on a wider scale. In the next few weeks we will take some steps to start strategic conversations with two groups. IT staff and the staff who are liaisons as their primary duty.
We are currently working on the agendas but in both cases we will utilize the time to review current services, identifying those things we will no longer need to do, those things that will be done differently, and new activities we must begin to engage in.
Our collective vision in the Purposeful Path Forward is one that relies on innovative technology, exploration of new models of teaching and research, and rethinking how we present our resources and services to our users in this new environment. It is clear from our vision the roles of these units are vital to our success and I am looking forward to the conversation. More groups will be convened in the coming months.
One UConn Library Update
There was a One UConn Library meeting on Monday at the School of Law where we continued to lay out our plan. We will be embarking on a review of each of libraries’ roles and what we have in common, what is unique in these environments, and where there may be gaps that need to be filled in order to create a seamless experience among our users.
Collections Budget Update
Thanks to Patrick, Galadriel and Alice for their presentation this week on the plan to thoughtfully manage our collections. If you were unable to attend, the PowerPoint can be found on Ibis.
Demonstration Interactive Classroom
The HBL Lecture Center is now the ‘new’ demonstration interactive classroom! We are working with UITS to make the final adjustments to the room which will be ready for orientation sessions for faculty and TA’s very soon. As Beverly Wood indicated in a message to the Provost this week, “this has been a great collaboration among a subcommittee of the Classroom Committee (chaired by Joe Crivello), Library, CETL, UITS, Fac Ops and PAES.” The room will now provide a space for developing teaching capabilities and engaging students in new ways in the classroom environment. The room will be managed by CETL and the feedback loops will continue to inform scalability, future classroom design and changes in pedagogy.