State of the University Addresses

2001 State of the University Address

Chairman Hintz, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff colleagues, students, alumni, and friends, thank you for joining me here at University Park or via satellite throughout Pennsylvania for my annual State-of-the-University address. It is an immense privilege at the beginning of each year to be able to stand before you to reflect on the future of Penn State.

The life of a university president today can be simultaneously one of great honor, exposure to intriguing intellectual discourse, and daily surprises and adventures. This past year we witnessed progress as great as in any year of our history. At the same time, it was a year of tremendous challenge, much of it played out in the spotlight of the media. I can certainly identify with the javelin thrower who won the toss and elected to receive.

Early in my career as a professor at Penn State in the 1970s, a colleague asked her students to answer the question of what they would wish for if they had just one hour to live. One of the students said, "If I had just one hour to live, I would like to attend one of Professor Spanier's lectures." I was flattered, of course, until learning that the student added, "When he talks for an hour, it seems like an eternity." Today's remarks will be shorter than that.

Today, I wish to review briefly a few of Penn State's impressive accomplishments of the past year, but then focus on a topic that both fascinates me and tests the limits of my own imagination as a university president. I am referring to the topic of information technology and the question of how American higher education-and Penn State-will be transformed by the deployment of such technologies. Our continued pursuit of excellence and our ability to shape Penn State's destiny greatly depend on how we choose to meet these new challenges.

Enrollments

Penn State has again experienced a year of success unmatched in our history. One measure of our success can be seen in our current enrollment figures. Penn State continues to be one of the most popular institutions in America, this fall enrolling about 82,000 students on our 24 campuses. Our growth is occurring, as planned, principally at the upper-division undergraduate level at campuses other than University Park. The opportunity to complete a baccalaureate degree at locations throughout the state has been celebrated by thousands of students and their families, employers, and members of the communities we serve. As a result, more of our freshmen and sophomores who begin their work at a campus other than University Park have indeed decided to obtain their degrees at those locations. This also has allowed us to enroll more freshmen at their first choice campuses, including University Park.

Alumni and Philanthropy

Over the course of our 146-year history, the University has not only been an appealing destination for potential students, but it also has held a special place in the hearts of our alumni. I continue to be deeply moved by the devotion of our more than 403,500 living graduates, who play such an important role in the life of Penn State. For the fourth year in a row, Penn State has been the nation's top university in the number of alumni donors. A total of 71,423 alumni made gifts to the University last year. We continue to have the largest alumni association in the world.

The tremendous benevolence of our alumni, faculty, staff, and friends has resulted in a record-breaking year of philanthropic contributions to Penn State. We raised $177 million last year, an all-time high, from 117,000 donors. And as you may have already heard, we exceeded our $1 billion Grand Destiny Campaign goal over the summer, two years ahead of schedule. Because of this incredible level of support, we have increased the goal of the Campaign to $1.3 billion. This campaign has allowed us to create more than 1,200 endowments to support students, faculty, and programs. More than one-third of all of the University's endowments have been created in just the past six years. During this same period, our loyal donors have contributed more funds than in the prior 140 years combined.

The Built Environment

We also continue efforts to enhance our physical environment to provide top-quality facilities at all twenty-four University locations. Over the past year, we have completed the design, construction, and renovation of more than 200 projects, including The Hintz Family Alumni Center, financed entirely by private funds, and the new state-of-the-art auditorium in the Thomas Classroom Building. The Academic Support Building at Hershey, the Junker Center at Penn State Erie, the renovation of the Eberly Building at Fayette, and the Information Commons at Berks also were completed. And I hope that you have noticed the emphasis we have placed on campus aesthetics, including grounds, maintenance, building design, and environmental stewardship.

We recently unveiled an updated five-year, $769 million capital improvement plan to address serious needs in our academic and student support buildings. Penn State's progress in the coming decades will be significantly linked to the quality of the facilities that are available to carry out our educational mission.

Currently, we have thirty-two major projects across the state in design or under construction. Among these are a classroom building at Altoona, an administration building at Beaver, a library at York, a multifaith chapel and a research education and development facility at Erie, a student union at McKeesport, and renovations to a general studies building at Mont Alto. University Park will see the construction of chemistry and life sciences buildings, as well as the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. There will be several new residence hall projects statewide, and we also have begun the first phase of our aggressive plan to install sprinklers in all of our 18,000 residence hall spaces on Penn State campuses.

Reiterating the Call for Inclusiveness

As I alluded to earlier, Penn State was thrust into the glare of the media spotlight several times over the course of the past year-first by student activities at the University Park campus and later by issues related to racism and intolerance. I would like to reiterate my call for your support in making Penn State a more welcoming environment for everyone. Acceptance and respect are important values, and making them part of our campus culture is among my highest priorities. I applaud all of you who are helping Penn State become a more inclusive community, and I have great faith in our ability to work together to overcome the obstacles that threaten the unity of our wonderfully diverse University community.

Unparalleled Success in Research and Scholarship

The research dollars attracted by our outstanding faculty are one indication of our national competitiveness and leadership. I am pleased to report that total grant and contract expenditures for research exceeded $470 million last year, a new record high for Penn State, and a 7 percent increase over the previous year. Research funding has increased by 37 percent over the last six years. And our future looks even brighter. During the fiscal year just ended, we saw a 24 percent boost in awarded funds for research projects. These awards, many of them multi-year commitments, will result in a healthy increase in our research activity for years to come, reinforcing our status as one of the premier centers in the world for scholarship and the creation of knowledge.

These numbers are testimony to the astonishing volume of discovery undertaken by our faculty. Let me also mention the parallel level of achievement in those areas of scholarship and creative activity that do not often rely on external funding. Our faculty in the humanities and in the fine and performing arts are similarly bringing great distinction to Penn State.

I find the joy of discovery throughout the University, from the art studios and theatrical stages that reveal and celebrate the human condition, to the development of life-saving inventions in our laboratories. To cite one example, a significant innovation that has been years in the making recently came to fruition when surgeons at Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center implanted the first heart-assist device powered via wireless electric transmission. This device, known as the Arrow LionHeart,(tm) is the result of collaboration among researchers with Penn State's Artificial Organs program and a Reading firm. At Penn State, we have an impressive history in the area of heart and biomechanical research and this device holds great promise for some of the 4 million patients in the United States who are victims of heart failure, but may not be eligible for a natural heart transplant. In addition, just two months ago surgeons at Penn State Children's Hospital implanted the world's smallest pacemaker into a five-month-old baby girl, one of the first such procedures ever performed. We are making the impossible possible, and we are truly making life better.

Another superb example of the inventiveness of our faculty is in the area of nanotechnology. Penn State is at the leading edge of this remarkable technology that involves the manipulation of atoms to create machines and structures so small that thousands could fit into the period at the end of a sentence. Nanotechnology is expected to impact every facet of society, from medicine to computers to the environment and even our progress in space. Next month, we will open a Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing Education in Nanofabrication, thanks to a $2 million award from the National Science Foundation. This center is a collaboration among thirty Pennsylvania institutions of higher education, private industry, and others.

Three months ago, our research enterprise realized another major boost through the state's $11.6 billion tobacco settlement proceeds, of which Penn State will receive nearly $7.4 million this year as the first installment of an annual allocation to support research in the medical and life sciences fields. In addition, we also will participate in the development of a biotechnology "greenhouse" in central Pennsylvania. One of three such centers in the state, it will promote biomedical research that leads to commercial and economic development. This facility replicates the successful Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse, which is attempting to make the region a leader in the advanced chip industry. Penn State is a founding member in that effort as well.

Recounting the many accomplishments of our innovative and creative faculty members reminds me of something Aristotle said: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

The Promise of Information Technology

I would like to turn my attention now to the subject of information technology, a topic that has been the focus of much of my activity in the national higher education arena. IT is more than a passing phenomenon. It is a global revolution that has already altered dramatically the way we live, work, and learn. Information technology has become so pervasive that there is scarcely a segment of life that has not already been affected by it. I know that some eyes tend to glaze over on the topic of "emerging technologies," but I believe that such advances offer unprecedented opportunities for us to develop a true learning society.

First, a confession. Personally, I'm still rather traditional when it comes to my own teaching, limited as it is these days. I emphasize lecture and discussion over visual aids, direct faculty-student interaction over electronic communications, and I believe attendance is very important. I don't believe in adopting IT for the sake of fad or fashion, and I recognize that some of us teach just fine, thank you, without all the bells and whistles. Moreover, change for the sake of change is foolish.

Yet for many of us, our willingness to change will be critical to Penn State's future success. Technology allows us to overcome the obstacles of time, place, and distance that only a generation ago were viewed by many as insurmountable barriers. And education is being touted as a key to the growth of democracy and economic prosperity.

That's a pretty tall order. But think about the profound difference made in the lives of Americans since Congress passed the Morrill Land Grant Act in 1862. Now think about the imperative advanced by the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land Grant Universities-that we reinvent ourselves for the twenty-first century. We must consider the crucial role new technologies will play in this evolution. I don't want Penn State to be thought of when people see the bumper sticker that says, "Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software."

The most prominent and familiar form of technology is, of course, the Internet. The power to share vast quantities of information and data is the foundation of the world's new "knowledge economy," in which information and ideas are a commodity. The astounding flow of knowledge and information-much of which has been created by universities-has fueled the growth and development of nations, produced scientific discoveries, and spawned the development of more technologies. There has never been a faster growing technology in economic history than the World Wide Web. To give you some perspective on how quickly information technology has gripped the populace, consider this: It took thirty-eight years for the radio to acquire 50 million users and thirteen years for television to become as common, but it took only four years for the World Wide Web to attract that same number of users.

Every day, the number of people using the Internet jumps by more than 50,000, and it has been estimated that by next year, 490 million people around the world will have Internet access. Every 24 hours, 2 million new Web pages are created, and by 2002 it is expected that there will be more Web pages than people on Earth.

Even with training, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, especially because it seems that technology itself changes daily. I feel a little like the young boy who came home from school a bit distressed. When his mother asked what was wrong, he said, "I just don't get it. Yesterday they told me that 2+2=4 and today it's 3+1."

On a recent day at my office, I took a short jaunt to a nearby office in Old Main to ask a colleague a question. I passed perhaps twenty colleagues in various offices along the way, noticing that every single person was focused on his or her computer screen-every person! It caused me to reflect-no one on the phone, no one conversing with an office mate, no one writing by hand. Technology has changed the workplace, the classroom, the laboratory, our lives, and the world. We must seriously rethink our approaches to teaching and learning, research and discovery, and service and engagement if we are to remain relevant in the decades ahead.

For higher education, the promises of emerging technologies are manifold. Not only are they a tremendous tool for scholars and researchers to collaborate worldwide and broadly disseminate discoveries with lightning speed, they also hold the promise of limitless learning. Students are no longer hindered by location, and with learning materials available 24/7, as they say, education is not restricted. Learning experiences can be tailored, making education more flexible, more interactive, more comprehensive, more hands-on, and thus more relevant. The capacity of information technology to fundamentally alter the teaching and learning process has never been more evident than now.

Setting the Standard

At Penn State we have embraced new information technologies, and our University is considered a leader in their deployment. We handle 2.5 million e-mail messages daily. We were a driving force in the creation of Internet2, the high-speed research and education network that is many times faster than the original Internet. If you are wondering why this is so important, remember that a picture is worth a thousand words-but it takes up a thousand times the memory!

We were one of the first institutions to develop a virtual university, our World Campus. Since its founding just a few years ago, the World Campus has attracted $4.5 million in outside funding and last year generated more than 5,000 enrollments from all 50 states and from 45 countries. This is no small feat, considering that of the 4,000 or so two- and four-year colleges in the United States, 70 percent provided online courses last year, a 46 percent rise from two years ago. More than 660 for-profit institutions are awarding degrees today. Few of these enterprises have the rich interplay of disciplines found at Penn State or the high-quality education that we offer.

We have worked hard to build the World Campus within the mainstream of the University and the results have been remarkable. This past year the World Campus was selected as part of a team of education providers who will offer distance learning opportunities to an estimated 15,000 soldiers stationed around the world as part of a five-year, $453 million Army University Access Online program. In addition, the World Campus also has embarked on new relationships with the Army National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard to deliver college courses anytime, anywhere to those military personnel and their families. At the heart of this amazing success is Penn State's unwavering commitment to accessibility and to becoming more engaged with the people we serve.

Distance Education and Resident Instruction

The formerly religiously separate domains of distance education and resident instruction are converging. I believe this to be among the most significant unacknowledged trends in higher education. It creates some exciting prospects for educators. Learning can occur online or in campus classrooms or through a combination of these two approaches. We can expect to see students living on campus taking World Campus classes from their dorm rooms. We will see some World Campus students commuting to one of our campuses for an occasional resident instruction course. There will be more flexibility in scheduling. For example, a course could involve a weekend in residence at the beginning and end of the course, with online learning sandwiched in between. And how long will we continue to be hung up on the superiority of the rigid fifteen-week semester calendar? I'm delighted that the Faculty Senate is taking a fresh look at our calendar. You will find me supportive of a change.

A recent report estimates that by 2002, 2.2 million college students will be enrolled in distance education, up from approximately 710,000 in 1998. Through the "clicks and mortar" approach, students are empowered to take control of their own learning. I am not one who believes that modern information technologies will displace the primacy of resident instruction in institutions such as ours, but I believe that the current rigid distinctions between distance education, commuter, and residential students will be increasingly blurred. We will see a shift in the learning process, combining face-to-face and online instruction with more real-world applications of concepts being studied. Our students will have the most up-to-date information as cutting-edge technologies enable us to expand what we bring into the classroom. We are closer than you might surmise. Last year, almost 60 percent of college courses nationally used e-mail as a tool for instruction, up from 10 percent in 1994. Thirty percent now use a Web site.

At Penn State, many of you have embraced the new technologies. I'd like to take a moment to thank you for your vision and drive in an area that is still evolving. We have excellent examples of how technology is being integrated into the curriculum. It reminds me of one bit of advice I gave to a student when he began college. I said, "Now that you are on your way to the university, there are two words you should avoid. The words are 'awesome' and 'cool.'" After a pause, the student said, "OK, so what are the words?"

Well, the use of virtual reality as a learning tool is awesome. And the use of simulated surgical scenarios for medical students in the College of Medicine is cool. Our engineering and architectural students have the capability to walk through their own designs using highly interactive, immersive technologies. At Penn State, we have enabled students in introductory physics classes to analyze the flight pattern of the space shuttle through digital technologies while students in our law school can evaluate their courtroom performance skills through a Web-based program that enables them to digitally view themselves as they practice their cross-examinations.

Students in the School of Information Sciences and Technology have cultivated a more collaborative learning environment by using Palm Pilots to interact with classmates. Students studying foreign languages have been able to immerse themselves in the culture and experience of another country through virtual visits and by communicating directly via the Web with students from those countries. Imagine being able to converse through instant messaging with a native of Quito, Ecuador, or Nice, France. It clearly is the next best thing to being there.

In chemistry, chemical reactions have been brought to life through the use of computer-rendered graphics, and in several large classes, technology has been used to shrink class size by creating smaller groups that interact with one another. A video clip of a historic event, a virtual visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a digitized image of the finds in King Tut's tomb, a simulation of blood flow, an audio segment of the works of Bach-all of these are examples of the tremendous power technology is giving to the profession of teaching, offering learning opportunities that textbooks and lectures cannot provide.

Another exciting example of hands-on learning is happening in The Smeal College of Business Administration. Over the past year, the college opened a facility that replicates a Wall Street trading room, allowing students to put theory into practice through technologies that simulate trading activities as they happen in the real world. The college, in conjunction with the School of Information Sciences and Technology, has also opened an e-Business Research Center as a home for preeminent research involving e-commerce.

In our outreach programming, technology is permitting us to engage on a deeper level with our communities, providing them access to accurate and timely research-based information in critical areas such as water quality, health, nutrition, and children, youth, and families. We recently launched a Web site that helps consumers with questions on food safety, and we have been at the forefront in providing accurate, research-based information on the spread of diseases, such as West Nile encephalitis. A new Web site within the College of Agricultural Sciences helps identify plant diseases. Through technology, we have been able to reach traditionally underserved populations and create communities of learners with common interests.

Two years ago, we launched the School of Information Sciences and Technology. We were the first university in the nation to emphasize leadership and management in the field. The school is now serving 2,164 degree-seeking students at 19 Penn State locations with more than 80 faculty across the Commonwealth. IST has partnerships with eight other educational institutions as well as many businesses, is working with dozens of high schools throughout the state, and has trained hundreds of educators outside the University in e-learning strategies. This semester, the school admitted its first class of doctoral students, and ground is being broken next month for a new IST building at University Park.

Several units at Penn State have collaborated to create "Partners in Public Service," an outreach initiative that uses the new digital environment to strengthen alliances and synergy among public service organizations in our communities, while introducing the public to cultural activities. Our Children, Youth, and Families Consortium, which we launched three years ago, now comprises more than 300 members, including faculty, Cooperative Extension agents, and Continuing Education personnel, who are working to deliver programming and disseminate information to parents, health professionals, teachers, and others who focus on issues related to the well-being of society.

In addition, we are now taking the first steps toward a digital future for public broadcasting at Penn State with digital television, greatly increasing our ability to serve Pennsylvanians at home and school by providing additional channel space. The movement to DTV also will open opportunities for public broadcasting and the World Campus to work together to further meet educational needs of Pennsylvanians.

More and more, we are using computers to simulate complex phenomena. Work that used to be done only at national supercomputing centers can now be done on campus, allowing us to actively investigate questions that were previously beyond our scope.

We plan to continue to build new, prototype classrooms enabling students to visualize key concepts in their courses. We are not far from creating holographics that allow for three-dimensional experiences or using technologies that enable students to fully interact with computers via the sense of touch. Through this emerging technology, they will be able to "feel" the leaf of a plant or sculpt in digital form as they would in clay.

Ubiquitous Technology

While all of these exciting advances are taking place in the areas of teaching, research, and service, we also are incorporating technology into our own business functions. We have made great strides in using technology for everything from salary transactions and online office supply orders to purchasing card transactions and electronic payments to vendors. Altogether, Penn State's e-business involves hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

Research grants and contracts at Penn State can now be tracked through a Web-based reporting system and the process of applying for grants has been simplified through a Web-based application that walks users through the life cycle of a grant.

But technology is not only helping us refine our administrative processes and capture savings, it is also making us a more student-centered university. Along with allowing students to customize their learning options, technology permits us to offer myriad e-services that give students more control over their educational experience.

Through a system known as eLion, students can now apply for admission, check course availability, register for classes, audit their own degree progress, check grades, review schedules, visit the University Libraries, sign up for housing, request transcripts, purchase computers, and consult an adviser. And if you think students don't care about grades these days, during final exams last May, 46,000 individual students accessed their grades via eLion a total of 311,000 times. Last year, more than 10 million transactions by students and faculty were processed through the eLion system.

Every faculty and staff member, as well as student, has an ID card that contains multiple functions. The card, recognized as a finalist for the Smithsonian Innovation Award, provides services such as dining access, banking options, security access, library checkout, and payment solutions for goods and services. This year, the University's General Stores initiated an online office supply catalog for purchases by faculty and staff. Over the course of the past year, more than 38,000 e-commerce transactions were authorized in offices such as Admissions, Bursar, and the World Campus.

You can now bid for jobs electronically or use our online processes to update your benefits options, purchase gifts, make reservations at The Nittany Lion Inn or Penn Stater, buy tickets to an event at the Bryce Jordan Center, and even make an online donation through the Office of University Development. Currently, there are more than 65,000 subscriptions worldwide to one of Penn State's five Newswires-summaries that go out from the Department of Public Information via e-mail. A dozen more specialized Newswires are being added in the coming months. The newest is a Diversity Newswire that was launched in August

This list merely scratches the surface of our efforts in e-commerce and e-business. What we are doing today should be considered only the first wave of possible e-solutions that hold the promise of long-term savings and more efficient services.

New Initiatives

With the start of classes this semester, the University Libraries launched an enhanced version of Penn State's online library catalog, The CAT. This souped-up edition, which involved the migration of more than 2.1 million bibliographic records, nearly 4 million item records and more than 120,000 patron records, gives library patrons more power to locate and access needed materials. Library patrons are also benefiting from the many partnerships we have forged, which now give patrons borrowing privileges at academic libraries and databases across the state and the country. Over the past decade, the Libraries have experienced a 77 percent increase in interlibrary loans.

We are working with AT&T to bring third-generation cellular service to the University Park campus. Known as 3G, it will provide high-speed Internet services to cell phone networks and is designed to carry data as well as voice. This new technology promises downloads that are twice as fast as wired broadband services and will give users incredible access.

Today, I wish to announce the roll-out of three new Web initiatives. The first is the Penn State Web Portal, a personalized communications service that brings together the very best academic information, services and electronic business applications of Penn State into one easy-to-use location. Through a Penn State access account, you are able to log on to the Web, and the first page you see is one that you have created. It could contain links to your favorite journals, library online resources you regularly use, services geared toward your professional needs, or tools that will help you manage your time. The idea behind the portal is to allow individuals to have a personalized gateway to the Internet that is customized to suit their needs. Rather than surfing for the information you regularly access, it is all on your desktop in one location.

A second exciting development that will be rolled out this fall is Penn State WebMail. Although I have been personally involved in the development of the mail system, in fact serving as the first alpha tester, please do not send your suggested programming changes to me! WebMail allows a user to access e-mail from any computer at any location in the world with an Internet connection and a browser.

The third new event is the introduction of a new University home page, along with a consistent visual Web presence for the University and a more user-friendly system of links. You'll see it up and running on Monday.

In addition, we have joined with ten other research institutions of international standing to create a worldwide research and graduate education partnership, known as the Worldwide Universities Network. Through this cooperative arrangement, Penn State will collaborate in the development of courseware and graduate programs that focus on interdisciplinary areas of global significance. Our ties with other institutions will allow our students to be part of an international graduate exchange program. The WUN has the collective expertise to tackle major global challenges on behalf of corporations, governments, the United Nations, and other worldwide agencies in ways that are not feasible by individual institutions.

All of this innovation reminds me of a story about the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo. Each day after school a little neighbor boy, Giovanni, would rush to Michelangelo's studio to watch the famous sculptor chip away at a fourteen-foot-high block of marble. Day after day, week after week, the boy would come and watch in fascination as the magnificent form of David began to take shape. Finally it was completed. Young Giovanni was utterly amazed by the transformation of the piece of stone into the beautiful David. In all innocence he asked the sculptor, "How did you know he was in there?"

So I ask you, "How did we know that all of these possibilities existed? How did we know it was all there, waiting to be tapped?" I believe it is because we had faculty and staff who were willing to envision it and bold enough to create it. As they say, the impossible is often just the untried. To quote Isaac Newton, "No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess."

Growing Up Digital

Adult and part-time students have been the fastest-growing segment of higher education enrollments, yet a large portion of those we educate also will be youth who have "grown up digital." These students have not known a world without computers and they are much more comfortable with technology than some of their instructors. Computer technology has been embedded in nearly every aspect of their lives. Many of these students do not learn best in the traditional lecture setting; hands-on, interactive learning is part of their educational experience. At the same time, for those who are older, learning must take place when they want it, as they need it, and as it fits into their existing lifestyle. All of this poses a great challenge for both faculty and students. Penn State must plan how best to cultivate learning in the digital age.

I am not suggesting we supplant the content and discourse associated with the traditional college experience. Virtually all of us can vouch for the meaning that the residential college experience has given our lives. It was once said, "A college education is what's left after you've forgotten everything you've been taught." What I am saying is that our students have gotten a taste of a world without walls. The Internet has provided them with that and we must find a way to expand our traditional methods to reach new audiences and educate students who have never known a world without the compact disc. We cannot and should not deny these students the vast learning opportunities offered through new technologies. We cannot and should not deny ourselves the possibilities of more interactive learning, a more productive work environment, and the ability to extend our reach to thousands of new learners.

A Final Word

In my previous addresses, I've stated the goal for Penn State to be the best institution in America in the integration of teaching, research, and service. I have not been disappointed by your collective achievements in this regard. Your commitment to learning, discovery, and engagement has been

awe-inspiring.

Now we must take the next steps. As a university, we are an integral part of the success of our nation in this new knowledge economy. We are experiencing our own evolution-some might call it a revolution-as we work to deal with changing demographics, globalization, and the rapid advances in information technologies. The greatest barrier to more effectively integrating technology into our curriculum, business practices, and support services will not be the technology itself, but our attitudes toward it. We have been given a powerful tool that can enhance the teaching and learning process.

By embracing new opportunities, while preserving our fundamental purposes, we can thrive during this era of change.