Greetings, everyone.
It is an amazing time to be at the University of Michigan, with an abundance of opportunities to support and participate in important work at a local, national, and global scale.
At President Schlissel’s leadership breakfast last month, he announced new initiatives on firearms-injury research and the arts; an exciting Center for Academic Innovation; and ongoing efforts to support carbon neutrality; diversity, equity, and inclusion; faculty recruitment; and actions to address sexual misconduct. And just last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the launch event for the Detroit Center for Innovation with other university leaders, which will be a transformative initiative for the university, the City of Detroit, and the state.
As technology professionals across the university, we are positioned to not only support this important work, but to be partners to our faculty and staff colleagues in our various areas of expertise. We can use our relationships with each other, and the knowledge we gain from participating in communities of practice or events like SUMIT or the upcoming Michigan IT Symposium, to continue to improve the level of service we provide to the greater community. How else can we grow as a Michigan IT community that works with and helps each other to support the university? I would love to hear your thoughts.
I encourage you to volunteer in or attend one of the many upcoming events by and for the Michigan IT community, which could include:
- Volunteering for the annual Hour of Code event
- Registering for Michigan IT Symposium
- Signing up to be a mentor or mentee in the Michigan IT Mentor program
- Joining a Community of Practice
If you don’t see an event or group that sparks your interest, please reach out and let me know what is missing. In addition, the Michigan IT Steering Committee will be holding a breakout session at the IT Symposium to explore new opportunities for the Michigan IT community, and we want to hear your ideas.
In future newsletters, we will be inviting more leaders from all levels to share their perspectives and findings with the community. I look forward to hearing from, and learning from all of you. As always, please contact me if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments. I’d love to hear from you.
Best regards,
Ravi
Ravi Pendse PhD
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Michigan
rpendse@umich.edu
