Greetings everyone,
I hope you are having a wonderful day! I have enjoyed getting to know so many of you over the past two months, and I look forward to additional opportunities to hear and learn from my IT colleagues across our campuses.
Last week, I participated in the first Information Technology Council meeting of the new academic year. The IT Council consists of deans, faculty, students, and IT and administrative leaders who are charged with advising me and university leadership on the strategic direction for shared technologies for the entire university. The topics raised by council members included data security and privacy, cloud services, funding for research computing, meeting students and faculty where they are in terms of their technology needs (user centric focus), and more. While we are still gathering thoughts and ideas, it is energizing to have such an engaged and thoughtful council to learn from and collaborate on these opportunities together.
One way we can all learn from each other and build greater understanding is by participating in the university’s fourth annual DEI Summit, which begins October 8. This includes a campuswide community assembly event on Monday morning, which highlights segments of the annual DEI report, keynote speaker, and numerous school, college and unit events across campus.
What does being “the leader in the most appropriate use of technology” mean to you?
In my Q&A last month, I shared my vision that “U-M will be a leader in the appropriate use of technology among our peers and in the world.” This requires intentional and proactive partnership with each other, as well as with the community members we support. One challenge I presented to ITS, which I now present to all of you, is to think about what is one thing you can flip from being reactive to proactive. How we can proactively support students, faculty, our own teams, and each other, so we can anticipate problems before they occur? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Another area where I would appreciate your input and guidance is to help envision what it would look like for U-M to be a leader in the appropriate use of technology among our peers and beyond. From your perspective, what are the types of things we could do to be #1 on this list? What does being “the leader in the most appropriate use of technology” mean to you?
I would enjoy hearing your ideas, and encourage you to share them with me. I see a teacher in all of you, so I am looking for your advice and guidance. My contact information is included below and I welcome you to reach out at any time.
Best Regards,
Ravi
Ravi Pendse PhD
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Michigan
rpendse@umich.edu
