News Release

New campuswide committee is at work
to enhance Carolina’s technology vision

CHAPEL HILL — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is setting its sights on becoming the nation’s leading public university in the technology sector.

Dr. Daniel A. Reed, vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer at UNC, recently launched a strategic planning effort to examine the university’s information technology.

Developed at Chancellor James Moeser’s request, the all-encompassing effort recognizes information technology as an essential strategic asset for education, research, community outreach and university operations.

"The IT field is a constantly evolving one, and the strategic plan must not only reflect the culture of the university and the university’s goals, but be responsive to the continually changing landscape of technology processes," Reed said.

Reed also is Chancellor’s eminent professor and director of the UNC-based Renaissance Computing Institute, a joint effort with Duke and N.C. State universities.

The planning process is designed to bring together an inclusive group representing all university stakeholders: faculty, staff, students and administrators. The strategic planning group will examine the depth and breadth of the university’s experiences with and need for information technology.

The process will be guided by a coordinating committee, led by Carol Jenkins, director of the Health Sciences Library. Jenkins recently led the library through a comprehensive renovation that includes significant use of new technologies for information management and sharing.

The coordinating committee is charged with defining a strategic plan that will make information technology a key element of the university’s vision and identify those opportunities where it can have a transformative influence on scholarship, education, service and outreach to the state’s citizens.

The coordinating committee met twice in January. It convened four technical committees involving more than 50 faculty, staff and students campuswide earlier this month.

The leaders of the coordinating committee and its technical committees are listed below:

Carol Jenkins, director of the Health Sciences Library (committee chairwoman)
Dr. Margaret Dardess, associate provost, Office of the Provost
Dr. Shelton Earp, director of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and distinguished professor of medicine
Todd Gamblin, graduate student in the department of computer science
Dr. Jose-Marie Griffiths, dean of the School of Information and Library Science
Nancy Suttenfield, vice chancellor for finance and administration
Undergraduate student, to be announced
Judith Wegner, chairwoman of the Faculty Council and professor of law

Technical committees:

Dr. Neil Caudle, associate vice chancellor for research (chairman of the research and scholarship committee)
Dr. Laurie McNeil, chairwoman of the department of physics and astronomy (chairwoman of the education and learning committee)
Dr. David Potenziani, director of instructional and information systems within the School of Public Health (chairman of the communications and networking Committee)
David Perry, executive associate dean for administration within the School of Medicine (chairman of the enterprise applications committee)

A Web site will be created to update the campus community on the findings of the committees, and opportunities to provide input to the planning will be announced.

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Note: Contact Jenkins at (919) 966-2111 or carol_jenkins@unc.edu

Information Technology contact: Audrey Ward, (919) 843-9070 or warda@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu