UMass Amherst Digital Quadrangle Series Colloquium: " Showcasing Research and Teaching in the 21st Century: A Digital Approach"

NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 03/1/07

CONTACT: LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATION ASST., (413) 545-0162

Amherst, MA - UMass Amherst will host “Showcasing Research & Teaching in the 21^st Century: A Digital Approach” on March 29, 2007, from 1:00 – 4:45 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge of the Student Union at UMass Amherst. David Shulenburger, Vice President for Academic Affairs of the National Association for State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), will give the keynote talk “If It Cannot Be Found on the Net, It Does Not Exist: Increasing Impact for UMass Scholarship.” Provost Charlena Seymour will introduce Dr. Shulenburger.

The event will mark the official debut of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, the new digital repository for campus researchers and scholars. The complete agenda for the afternoon is available at: http://www.umass.edu/research/Mar2907Agenda.pdf. A wine and cheese reception in the Student Union Art Gallery will follow the program. Faculty, staff, and graduate students are invited to attend. The event is open to the public.

David Shulenburger is active nationally and internationally as an advocate for reform in the areas of scholarly communication and academic accreditation. Shulenburger previously held the positions of Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor at the University of Kansas from 1993 to 2006, where he received several University-wide teaching awards. He is chair of the board of the Center for Research Libraries, consulting editor for “Change,” past chair of the NASULGC Council on Academic Affairs, board member of BioOne, and has served on the boards of numerous other non-profits. Previously a faculty member at Clemson University and a labor economist for the U.S. Department of Labor, he received his PhD and masters degrees from the University of Illinois.

The second half of the program includes two panel discussions. In the first, “The ScholarWorks Track: A Panel of Case Studies,” faculty members will discuss the adoption of ScholarWorks and its impact on their research and teaching. Representatives from the Center for Teaching, Office for Research, Graduate School, and UMass Press will serve on the second panel, “Tools and Policies: Getting to Your Destination.” Discussion topics will include intellectual property, the potential for transforming teaching models, the electronic master’s theses project, and open access from the perspective of UMass Press.

This second annual Digital Quadrangle Series Colloquium is sponsored by the UMass Amherst Libraries, Office for Research, Center for Teaching, and the Graduate School.

For more information, contact Marilyn Billings, 545-6891, or mbillings@library.umass.edu.