UB Faculty Senate

FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Distributed Information Technology
Support for University Libraries
Student Access to Computing
Assessment of Computing and Technology Support for Faculty Areas of Responsibility

Distributed Information Technology
WHEREAS Distributed Information Technology (DIT) is defined as a decentralized computing environment, including desktop workstations, linked by an adequate network, with software, hardware and personnel support necessary to gain easy access to workgroup, school-based, university-based and national information, software and computational facilities.

WHEREAS the DIT environment is largely domain-specific and not amenable to development solely by a centralized organization.

WHEREAS the DIT environment must continue to develop in a fashion which focuses on meeting the needs of students, staff and faculty.

WHEREAS a significant investment in DIT will be needed to maintain SUNY at Buffalo's status among its peer institutions.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT a significant reallocation of funds at all levels of the University will be necessary to support the growth and development of DIT.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the delineation of the information technology contributions to be made by each entity in the University community should be explicitly articulated, and well and widely understood.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the funds for DIT should include:

new funding programs by SUNY and the State of New York to be obtained and targeted at the development and support of DIT
an allocation of funds to be administered by the University Budget Committee, to include a new focus on the development and support of DIT
an allocation of funds administered by the individual schools to include a new focus on the development and support of DIT
funds currently dedicated to functions no longer deemed appropriate to a redefined mission of Computing and Information Technology, be reallocated to the development and support of DIT.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the University, with a significant input from users, should develop a vision for the future of computing.

[passed by the Faculty Senate 11/15/94, by voice vote]

Support for University Libraries
WHEREAS UB aspires within the next ten years to be known as the premier public university in the northeastern United States, and

WHEREAS research and creative activity are integral to a research University, and

WHEREAS an excellent University Library System is essential for teaching, research, and learning,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate recommends to the President, the Provost and the Senior Vice President that adequate resources be provided for staffing and acquisitions in all formats in the University Libraries, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT resources be provided for development of the digital library, but not in place of essential basic library collections and services, as we move forward with technological development, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate recommends that the President and Provost establish closer coordination of electronic information systems within the University in order to gain maximum benefit from funds allocated for Library and Information Services from a shrinking University budget.

[passed by Faculty Senate on 4/30/96 by voice vote]

Student Access to Computing
Whereas the UB administration is engaged in extensive discussions and planning with the aim of increasing student access to computing; and

Whereas increased student access to computing will enhance the attractiveness of UB for stronger and better-prepared students and furthermore will facilitate increased participation by students in the many technology-intensive research and scholarly activities on our campus; and

Whereas technology is transforming methods of inquiry and scholarship throughout the natural and mathematical sciences, the social sciences, the arts and humanities, and the professional disciplines on our campus; and

Whereas increased student access to computing will better enable UB to prepare students for technology-intensive research and professional careers and for productive and fulfilling lives as workers and citizens in American society and in the global economy; and

Whereas increased student access to computing will provide opportunities for constructive reexamination of undergraduate curricula and the teaching techniques employed with students (for example, through the use of e-mail, web browsers, and document preparation software) and can contribute to a reinvigoration of undergraduate education at UB; and

Whereas the Faculty Senate is pleased to receive a report of good news, not bad; a report that promises solutions rather than posing problems; and a report that looks to the future and not to the past;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

That the Faculty Senate commends the UB administration for its careful and thoughtful discussions and planning towards increasing student access to computing; and

That the Faculty Senate urges the UB administration not to neglect the central role that faculty development and faculty access to computing must play in implementation of increased student access to computing; and

That the Faculty Senate urges the UB administration to provide guidance and assistance to all students who seek to purchase or otherwise to have access to a computer; and

That the Faculty Senate encourages the UB administration to assign high priority to moving forward quickly with planning and implementation of increased student access to computing;

That the Faculty Senate calls upon all the faculty at UB to support increased student access to computing by contributing to and participating in campus seminars and workshops on technology and teaching and by seeking and pursuing opportunities for increasing the creative and effective use of computing in teaching when this is appropriate; and

That the Faculty Senate continue to work closely with the UB administration and with students in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policy on student access to computing.

[passed by the Faculty Senate on 5/6/98]

Assessment of Computing and Technology Support for Faculty Areas of Responsibility (research, teaching, administration, and service)

Whereas the incorporation of computing and information technology into teaching and learning at UB has been pursued aggressively as an institutional priority to both enhance the attractiveness of UB for stronger and better prepared students and to enhance the education of students in the many technology-intensive fields on our campus; and
Whereas computing and information technology places both new opportunities and new demands on the faculty in order to fulfill their diverse responsibilities of teaching, administration, research, and service; and
Whereas UB's acceleration of incorporation of computing and information technology in teaching and learning areas further heightens these opportunities and demands; and
Whereas IT constitutes a multimillion dollar yearly investment of UB, and consists of an existing infrastructure of even greater investment; and
Whereas a new administrative structure was created over the past several years to customize computing and information technology delivery and support to the needs of a diverse faculty and university community; and
Whereas continuing assessment of both needs and of outcomes is an essential responsibility in an academic institution;
Whereas the degree is unknown to which faculty needs in these areas of diverse responsibility are met by the current administrative structure, institutional priorities, and decision-making bodies;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

That the Faculty Senate commends the UB administration for its attentive stewardship of the growth of computing and information technology and the access of its students to that technology; and
That the Faculty Senate urges the UB administration to implement at the earliest possible time an assessment of the degree to which the computing and information technology expenditures, priorities, and delivery of support meet the needs of its end users, particularly faculty; and
That the Faculty Senate urges the UB administration specifically to assess the degree to which the decentralized administrative structure for computing and information technology support meets the needs of its end users, particularly faculty; and
That the UB administration and the Faculty Senate convene jointly a Task Force, perform this assessment, and
That the UB administration institute a plan to make subsequent regular assessments in the future of needs and outcomes a regular part of its process of planning and reviewing expenditures, support, and priorities.

[passed by the Faculty Senate on 4/11/2000]
[Promogated by the President]

Tel: 716-645-2003
Fax: 716-645-2717
Email: faculty-senate@buffalo.edu
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