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TLTDC created to support changing curricular needs Today’s university classrooms and lecture halls are not what they used to be. Chalkboards, overheads and slide projectors have given way to PowerPoint, multimedia, distance learning and online Web-based technology. To utilize and support changing technology in the classroom, UW-Eau Claire has created a new Teaching and Learning Technology Development Center, Provost Ronald Satz announced July 22. The TLTDC is an evolutionary next step that will replace the current Media Development Center, Satz said. The TLTDC will incorporate many of the functions currently performed by existing MDC staff and add instructional design support from current information and technology management resources. Plans for the TLTDC have been under consideration for more than a year. A task force appointed by Satz and chaired by Marty Wood, English, issued recommendations in January that were discussed campus-wide and reviewed in consultation with the University Senate Executive Committee, MDC staff and Interim Assistant Vice-Chancellor and CIO James Lowe. “The new TLTDC will directly support the core mission of UW-Eau Claire — excellence in undergraduate curriculum and instruction,” said Satz. “It will serve to utilize today’s technology in a way that will enhance teaching and enable our faculty and instructional academic staff to more directly engage students in learning. The TLTDC will collaborate with the Professional Development Activity Council and the Network for Excellence in Teaching, among other units and programs, to sustain and enhance the university’s commitment to excellence in undergraduate instruction.” In keeping with task force recommendations, a person with faculty rank has been appointed interim director of the TLTDC. Kathleen Finder, Center for Instructional Technology Improvement and Innovation manager, has been named to the post effective July 22. Finder holds faculty rank in McIntyre Library and previously worked as an academic staff member in MDC. “Kathy Finder brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to her new position. Her long involvement with both CITI and MDC, as well as her interaction with faculty and staff, will help ensure a smooth transition from MDC to creation of the TLTDC,” Lowe said. “The TLTDC truly represents the next step in integrating technology to support teaching and learning. This is an exciting development for the university and I’m looking forward to working with TLTDC staff and others to better serve the classroom needs of the faculty and instructional academic staff,” Finder said. Because classroom design and technical support is a critical component of sustaining the teaching and learning environment, classroom services will be incorporated into the TLTDC, Lowe said. He is asking classroom services staff to mount a search for an assistant director and to work collaboratively with interim director of Computing and Networking Services Craig Mey and CNS staff to develop synergy, cross-training and efficiencies to provide classroom and related services as well as centralized checkout for all equipment.
Interim director of CNS named An experienced information technology executive has been named interim director of Computing and Networking Services at UW-Eau Claire. Craig Mey assumed his new duties July 22. Mey, 48, has more than 11 years of IT management experience, including 10 years as director of information technology at Phillips Plastics Corp. in Eau Claire. He also possesses extensive project, quality control and plant management experience from major food manufacturers including Tombstone Pizza and J.M. Smucker. "Craig is an experienced manager with a strong background in project management, team building and IT management," according to interim assistant vice chancellor and CIO James Lowe. "His team approach to working with councils and varied constituencies has resulted in excellent outcomes," Lowe said. Mey's appointment will enable Lowe to focus full time on his duties as interim assistant vice chancellor and CIO. Lowe had been serving as both CIO and director of CNS. While Mey has spent his entire career in private industry, he expects the transition to the university environment to go smoothly. "I have spent my career in team environments, reaching consensus on many important decisions. UW-Eau Claire has a reputation for outstanding programs, faculty and staff - something I'm extremely proud to be part of," Mey said. Mey is a 1976 graduate of UW-Madison, where he earned a bachelor's degree in natural science. 
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Updated: July 29, 2002 |
