To the Case Western Reserve University Community:
All of us appreciate the importance of technology in our lives- from helping us organize our schedules, to entertaining us, and, of course, enabling us to do our work more efficiently and effectively. We have come to realize that technology affects almost all of what we do, and never more so than when internet connections falter or our data is compromised.
[Re] Imagining IT is a strategic plan that embraces what Information Technology is, can and should be at Case Western Reserve. Through months of engagement with people across the campus, the planning group learned firsthand the aspirations, frustrations and essential expectations our community has for technology at this university. Rather than focus solely on the future’s most exciting emerging IT opportunities, they recognized the importance of addressing basic functions as well.
As a result, this plan outlines an extraordinary ambition: to meet the myriad and disparate needs of the entire campus. [Re] Imagining IT incorporates feedback and recommendations heard during its development: IT aims to improve direct service on the campus; simplify use of technology of all kinds; and enhance the ways that technology contributes to education, scholarship and research.
Work on this plan started before the university began its centralization of IT late in 2015. Even so, this significant organizational change informed many of the details of this document and is discussed specifically in two of its sections. Centralization clearly is a key element in the plan’s execution, and with the challenges and opportunities to come, it is also critical to the entire university. I thank everyone involved in the centralization process to date, and commend all of the faculty, staff and students who took part in creating this strategic plan. Not only do both efforts provide strong foundations for Case Western Reserve’s future IT efforts - they also show great potential to accelerate the university’s progress.
Barbara R. Snyder
President