More faculty joining IT governance panels

By Scott Sherman

The IT governance portfolios are inviting faculty members to join their ranks, bringing the faculty perspective closer to the decision-making process than it has been in the past.

The Faculty Information Technology Advisory Committee previously served to help governance portfolios address the needs of faculty, but depending on the timing of meetings those concerns may not always have been addressed. So some changes are being tested.

“We want to get faculty more integrated into our portfolios so they can truly be partners rather than advisers,” said UIT Chief of Staff Rene Eborn, who acts as a liaison with governance members. “We want them to be on these committees and know what the hard issues are and be informed the whole way, not as an advisory group at the last minute.”

This Academic Senate Executive Committee is also being brought into the discussion to help elevate IT issues and concerns.

“For this year, they are trying to let the executive committee of the Academic Senate manage the governance issues regarding faculty,” Eborn said. “This month they actually met with Chief Information Security Officer Dan Bowden to talk about information security.”

With these changes, the faculty perspective will be even more represented in critical IT decisions.