July 2008 Archives
We often talk about the need to embrace change and there are certainly lots of recent examples of the rapid introduction of technology driven change. Cellphones and cellular modems, portable music and video players, creating and uploading videos, along with nearly ubiquitous laptops and smart phones are just a few examples of changes in the last several years.
It's easy then to think that technology driven change is a new phenomenon and that it is something we've only recently had to learn to handle. But this month I was reminded that's not so. Rapid technology driven change has been around for at least a century.
This month marks the 100th anniversary of Ford's Model T, the first affordable car for the masses and one that quickly changed the American landscape. Industries changed, long used skills suddenly were no longer needed yet new skills were suddenly in demand and in short supply. New infrastructure for servicing and fueling cars had to be created. To get an understanding of the cultural shifts caused by the auto read former Penn Stater Deborah Clarke's book, Driving Woman: Fiction and Automobile Culture in Twentieth-Century America.
Earlier this month at the Central PA Festival of the Arts, I watched the Paragone Ragtime Orchestra perform. This is a small orchestra who has revised the practice of showing silent films while playing the original score for these films. What struck me was how quickly this changed in a very short period of time with the introduction of the "talkies". Through the 20 century teens and twenties there were thousands of musicians who made their living by being part of theatre orchestras, and nearly overnight the market for these orchestras disappeared.
While it may seem of more concern to us when it directly affects us, technology-driven change certainly isn't new. We should recognize this as a natural part of the cycle of discovery and adaptation. The need to continually learn, to remain flexible, and to be willing to adopt new methods, new techniques, new technology is no different now than it was a century ago.
Now that the ITS Strategic Plan is published, we need to consider how best to keep this a living document, measuring progress toward its goals, and modifying the goals as needed over time. Jerry Krawczyk's recent post suggested we do regular updates, a good idea. We are starting to develop ideas on how to do this, and I welcome your thoughts on the best way to do so.
The ITS Strategic Plan covering years 2008-09 through 2012-13 has been submitted to the University Planning Office and is available on the ITS strategic plan wiki at
https://confluence.et-test.psu.edu/display/stratplan/home
This same site now also has information about two Plan activities that will be done in partnership with the University Libraries.
We have tried to make this a collaborative process. Many of our staff attended planning forums or offered comments on the wiki. Members of the senior leadership team met with Campus leaders, members of the faculty, college and campus IT Directors, Outreach and Controllers office representatives and others. A survey of all students, faculty and staff was conducted to gather information on current uses of IT tools and services.
Certainly there will be changes to this written plan over the next five years, but it provides a good framework for more specific tasks. The Plan identifies seven change drivers, five critical challenges, and six strategies to address these. The budget requests, respecting the current economic climate, are reasonable and responsible, reflecting what we believe is needed to help Penn State maintain a position of excellence in higher education.
Thank you to all who contributed to this Plan. Now the fun of crafting specific tasks and implementation begins. I hope you will be as engaged in these efforts as you were with developing the Plan.
https://confluence.et-test.psu.edu/display/stratplan/home
This same site now also has information about two Plan activities that will be done in partnership with the University Libraries.
We have tried to make this a collaborative process. Many of our staff attended planning forums or offered comments on the wiki. Members of the senior leadership team met with Campus leaders, members of the faculty, college and campus IT Directors, Outreach and Controllers office representatives and others. A survey of all students, faculty and staff was conducted to gather information on current uses of IT tools and services.
Certainly there will be changes to this written plan over the next five years, but it provides a good framework for more specific tasks. The Plan identifies seven change drivers, five critical challenges, and six strategies to address these. The budget requests, respecting the current economic climate, are reasonable and responsible, reflecting what we believe is needed to help Penn State maintain a position of excellence in higher education.
Thank you to all who contributed to this Plan. Now the fun of crafting specific tasks and implementation begins. I hope you will be as engaged in these efforts as you were with developing the Plan.
