Planning technology for the future is always challenging because change is swift and sometimes proceeds in quite unforeseen directions.
The continuing challenge directly related to Lehigh’s essential character is how to leverage technology in this environment to improve learning, teaching, and research. How can we (1) increase and improve collaborative learning spaces, (2) engage faculty in using technology and embracing other pedagogical innovations without overloading them, (3) continue to expand our high performance computing support model for our campus research community, and (4) provide enough support for students and faculty to utilize library and technology resources effectively at all the times they need it?
New service models, with more staff that is more highly trained, are needed to operate the renovated Linderman Library for the anticipated exponential increase in use as well as for other facilities like the Digital Media Studio. Another challenge to LTS, on the library services side, is the increasing campus demand for electronic library resources, both online scholarly publications and digital library products that highlight unique Special Collections’ materials. The success of our efforts in these areas to date has stimulated the desire for more, especially for the purpose of integrating them into the curriculum.
Network infrastructure poses another especially large challenge in the near future on two critical fronts. First, although the 2020 Project allowed Library and Technology Services to replace the campus switches, less than half of the life cycle funding has been identified to replace and upgrade these switches as required in the future. Secondly, the university cable plant in many academic buildings still consists of dated twisted-pair copper wire and inadequately sized network closets that will not support emerging high-capacity networking technologies that directly support our research mission. The re-cabling of academic and administrative buildings and residential facilities will cost in excess of $10 million.
The three biggest challenges facing Distance Education are: working with the academic colleges to ensure the most efficient possible use of limited faculty resources, maintaining Lehigh's position in the increasingly competitive and volatile distance education marketplace, and building and re-shaping Distance Education resources to support an increased level of highly diversified programming.
There are several enterprise wide initiatives on the horizon: identity management, constituent relations management, and digital imaging for records management. All require close collaboration among many campus units, attention to security issues, and judicious evaluation of the products on the marketplace. The challenge for LTS will be to integrate these initiatives seamlessly with the Banner system to enhance productivity.
Finally, marketing of LTS services to the Lehigh University community is a continuing opportunity and challenge. Feedback from our strategic planning advisory group reminded us that faculty, staff, and students have many concerns vying for their time. We need to communicate effectively with them so that they are fully aware of what LTS can offer them to enhance their teaching, learning, and research.
LTS has been very successful in the past several years in fostering and developing an organizational commitment to service. The Lehigh Lab campus-wide learning initiative has given visibility to the fundamental need of the campus to think differently, take risks, be innovative and communicate effectively. The community of learners, including faculty, staff, and students know that there are resources available to assist them and that their own best practices will in turn be disseminated between and among them.
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