CCFIT > Calendar & Minutes > 2007-08 Minutes > April 14, 2008 Minutes

Attendees: Francois Gygi (Chair), John Berg, Caroline Bledsoe, Lora Jo Bossio, Greg Loge (on behalf of Rick Catalano), Tor Cross, Gary Ford, Jeff Gibeling, Bernd Hamann, Michael Hogarth, Rob Kerner, Dave Klem, Karen Latora, Bob Ono, Dennis Pendleton, Anna Pruitt, Brenda Ruth, Julie Saylor (on behalf of Kelly Ratliff), Gail Yokote (on behalf of Marilyn Sharrow), Pete Siegel, Katie Stevens, Jon Wagner

Excused: Mike Allred, Matt Bishop, Paul Gepts, Bernd Hamann, Jan Ilkiw, Bob Ono, Dave Shelby

Absent: Joe Chatham, Bella Corbin, Niels Jensen, Tom Kaiser, Bill Lacy, Roger McDonald, Bob Sams

I.  Welcome and approval of minutes – Chair Francois Gygi
Chair Francois Gygi welcomed committee members and called for an approval of the March minutes.  Minutes were approved as submitted. 

II. Crisis Communications – Lisa Lapin, Assistant Vice Chancellor, University Communications

The need for crisis communications in a campus setting is an important component to the campus environment, the local community and potentially the national community. How we communicate determines how people perceive us. A year after the Virginia Tech crisis, most people believe Virginia Tech did a good job in communicating and recovering from a tragic event. One lesson learned is that the media interest will continue as long as there are communications underway regarding an incident. Given this, we can decide when the incident is over. Much like Virginia Tech, once the campus decides it is time to stop communicating about a crisis, the blitz of media interest will subside.

UC Davis experienced our own case study on crisis communications in March 2008 when there was an incident in the Tercero dorms. The incident began the evening of March 5th when UC Davis police received a report that there might be explosive materials inside a residence hall. Police investigated the room in question and after finding suspicious materials present, evacuated approximately 450 dorm residents as a safety precaution. The students spent the night at the Tercero Dining Commons. Once the materials were removed by hazardous materials authorities the following day, the residents returned to their rooms. A campus-wide email regarding the incident was sent the following morning to let students, faculty and staff members know that the campus was secure and activities, class and campus business would continue as scheduled.

What was underestimated by campus officials was that with the evacuation of 450 dorm students, was the potential 450 cell phones, PDAs, and laptops notifying families and friends of the "perceived" incident. A media blitz on local and national levels immediately ensued and continued throughout the night. The media presence on campus was at unprecedented levels for an incident where the situation was contained and that there was no further threat to the safety or security of the campus community.

One of the lessons learned from this particular incident is that in the absence of official campus communications, the media will report any information received during an incident from any sources available to them. As a result, University Communications better understands the immediate need for communications regardless of the severity of the incident to prevent inaccurate information from being reported. Additionally, a crisis isn't only defined as a big issue or large disaster; it could be any crime or incident involving a student, staff, faculty, or alumni.

Communication projects currently underway and in the near future include the deployment of a campus notification system for notifying students, staff, and faculty of an emergency on or near campus; the ability to immediately post communications to the campus website; a presence on FaceBook, a commercial communications tool used widely around the world; and Berkeley's PeopleFinder that will provide the ability to post messages to loved ones during a crisis.

For additional questions or feedback regarding campus communications or communications projects, contact Lisa Lapin (lalapin@ucdavis.edu).

III. Chancellor's Fall Conference Action Plan Committee Report – Pete Siegel, Vice Provost, Information and Educational Technology
The Chancellor's Fall Conference Action Plan Committee was established by Vice Provost Pete Siegel on October 30, 2007. The committee's charge was to develop a brief 5-year vision document based on the fall conference reports and recommendations; and prepare a specific set of follow-up recommendations based on the breakout group reports. Some of the recommendations may be longer-term and general; however, the committee was encouraged to identify specific accomplishments that could be substantially achieved within the next 12 months.

Siegel stated that while the campus is undergoing budget constraints, it is still important to bring forward recommendations that would allow the campus to continue to build on technology-related actions in order to stay competitive in the educational environment. Some of the recommendations already underway include cyber infrastructure to allow the campus the ability to connect world-wide, not just internally to UC Davis; and Data Center space planning that would allow for a collaborative approach in providing needed computing space and resources across the campus.

The draft report is now available for comment as well as PowerPoint slides that summarize the committee's recommendations (see: http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/fallconference.cfm). Feedback on the committee's report may be emailed to vpiet-info@ucdavis.edu.

IV. Administrative Computing Policy PPM 200-45 overview – Jeff Barrett, OOA/IET Technical Liaison, Office of Administration
The UC Davis Administrative Computing Policy (PPM 200-45) defines a convenient and uniform format for sharing significant technology projects with the campus community. Through a flexible and collaborative review process, project sponsors can obtain a quick reality check from key technology leaders, functional unit experts, and other key stakeholders.

In addition to receiving peer and stakeholder feedback on potential projects, participants also have the opportunity to share their own perspectives regarding others' initiatives. Both types of participation have the potential to transform the planning process, providing timely data and opinions that may influence tactical and strategic decisions.

To access the administrative computing policy website, see: http://admincomputing.ucdavis.edu. Contact Jeff Barrett (jtbarrett@ucdavis.edu) for additional questions or feedback regarding the implementation of this policy.

V. Technology Innovation: UC Davis Web Content Management System overview – Elliott Lopez, Web Consultant/Project Manager, University Communications/Amanda Price, Marketing and Communications Director, Letters and Science
In late 2005, UC Davis began work to identify solutions that would address weaknesses in the organization's Web content, standards, systems and publishing methods. In addition to facilitating the use of the Web to support communications, information, and fundraising objectives, UC Davis sought to ensure campus-wide compliance with internal editorial, graphic and technical standards, and with legal requirements for content accessibility.

In early 2006, UC Davis formally initiated the search for a Web Content Management Solution to meet the campus' Web publishing objectives by hiring necessary staff, implementing a project management system, and organizing a team dedicated to the pursuit of this goal.

A clearly defined governance structure has been created for the Web Content Management Initiative:

• A core project team which includes representatives from several departments
• An executive steering committee comprised of senior executives and principal stakeholders who have the authority to make organizational policy decisions
• Additional activity committees made up of staff with targeted professional expertise, skills and experience to support project execution under the management of the project team

The UC Davis Web Content Management system will provide the tools and resources to enable even non-experts to publish Web content with minimal dependence upon specialized technical resources, skills or staff.

For more information regarding this initiative, see: http://cms.ucdavis.edu/aboutproject.html. For additional feedback or questions, contact Elliot Lopez (ellopez@ucdavis.edu) or Amanda Price (mailto:amprice@ucdavis.edu).

Meeting adjourned at 4:35pm