UC Davis seminars go online, including ones about Tahoe
By Kathy Garvey, Daily Democrat
Professor James R. Carey knows that the value of seminars is invaluable.
When the UC Davis entomology professor chaired the UC Systemwide Committee on Research Policy, he called for a strategic approach to record, broadcast and archive the hundreds of seminars that take place weekly on the 10 UC campuses. He presented his plan to the Systemwide Academic Council, received enthusiastic approval, and then launched a pilot program at UC Davis to field-test it.
Now, three years later, his strategic approach has become a groundbreaking reality. The UCTV Seminars project is online, free, and available to all.
Described as a higher-education milestone, it’s the first of its kind in the United States.
“This will not only help the UC system become a scholarly resource, but will fulfill our public service mission,” said Carey. “And the cost to capture these seminars is low — a one-time expenditure of about $200 for both the webcam and software.”
“One of the great intellectual achievements of the University of California is its ability to bring the best minds from within the university and across the world to our campuses to share ideas, spark innovation, and build collaboration,” said Peter Siegel, UC Davis chief information officer and vice provost for information and educational technology. “As Professor James Carey has demonstrated through some of his most recent work, technology offers exciting new opportunities for expanding and re-inventing these
conversations.
“Each campus,” Siegel said, “has multiple opportunities each day for faculty, students, and colleagues to join in the great dialogue that ensues within their academic seminars, conferences and colloquia. “What if these rich and exciting dialogues weren’t limited to the faculty on a single campus, but in fact were available to everyone?”
Thank you so much for sharing this article with us. I have a couple of thoughts. First, it is my observation that advances in communication have a great impact on rural areas. The availability of this new service will impact all who choose to take advantage of it, no matter where they live.
Second, I am reminded of a conversation with a retired UCD irrigation prof. He was asked for his take on the long-term impact of projects he had done in the third world. He said that the greatest impact was the sharing of the extension philosophy of the land grant colleges — that the institution had a responsibility to share what had been learned with the community.