Faculty and students continue to rely more and more on the integration of academic technologies into the teaching and learning experience. It is therefore critical that the university maintain a stable IT environment that can grow rapidly to accommodate the myriad ways faculty and students rely on technologies to enhance the academic experience.
Delivering the technologies needed to support the teaching and research mission of the campus in this environment requires that the Office of Information Technology (OIT) nurture strong connections with the faculty. OIT depends on these connections to better understand how faculty members work and how technology can help them. Though they have regular venues for short-term interactions with faculty members, OIT realized 鈥� through self-study and contact with peer institutions 鈥� that the university could further benefit from prolonged opportunities for dialog, prototyping and exploration with faculty members about how technologies can enable and extend their teaching.
Enter Noah Finkelstein, a CU-Boulder professor of Physics, who has accepted a new position as a faculty advisor for OIT. This position will allow Finkelstein to engage in longer-term dialogs and projects with OIT. His appointment is for a five-month pilot period, and it is anticipated that he will serve at least through the 2015-16 academic year. Nationally, Finkelstein currently serves on both the Board of Trustees for the Higher Learning Commission, and the Technical Advisory Board for the Association of American Universities STEM Education Initiative, among other national boards. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Presidential Teaching Scholar for the University of Colorado system.
Larry Levine, AVC for IT and the campus鈥� Chief Information Officer (CIO), is delighted that Finkelstein has accepted this appointment.
鈥淚 approached the Provost with the idea of asking Noah to serve as strategic academic advisor to my position and to OIT, and I was encouraged to receive Provost Moore鈥檚 endorsement and support. Noah鈥檚 leadership as a director of the Center for STEM Learning on campus, as well as his lengthy list of achievements in innovative teaching, being a Presidents Teaching Learning Scholar, an ATLAS fellow, and his demonstrates his commitment to educational excellence in a systematic, collaborative and disciplined manner.鈥�
Finkelstein will help shape OIT鈥檚 strategic direction as it relates to supporting teaching with technology, academic technology tools, and classroom and academic spaces.
鈥淭his is a crucial time for the faculty voice to be directly injected into the strategic decisions that the CIO is making,鈥� Finkelstein said. 鈥淲orking with AVC Levine and the staff of OIT affords the unique opportunity to help shape such directions. As the faculty collectively engage in systematic, scalable and sustainable educational transformations, the use of IT and collaboration with OIT鈥檚 IT professionals will be essential.鈥�