Vision
in Action panel weighs resource needs
Facilitators
said they hoped for more student input during the meeting.
By
Lacey Krause
Staff Reporter
Campus needs such as computer software and musical recording
technology were discussed at a meeting Wednesday to help
map TCU’s future.
Approximately 40 people, including faculty and staff and
students, met to discuss the need for additional learning
tools such as technology, faculty and materials.
The meeting was the second of six town hall meetings organized
by Chancellor Victor Boschini’s Vision in Action
group. Boschini developed the VIA group to design a three-
to five-year plan for TCU’s future.
The panel was overseen by four members: Sue Anderson,
professor of education; Ernest Couch, professor of biology;
Larry Kitchens, director of the Center for Instructional
Services; and Catherine Wehlburg, director of the Center
for Teaching Excellence.
Only one student, senior journalism major Monique Bhimani,
commented at the meeting. TCU needs a greater variety
of software on all university computers, as well as more
Iomega Zip disk drives, Bhimani said.
“There are various classes that require you to use
certain programs,” she said.
Kitchens
said he had hoped for more student input.
“It’s their university too,” he said.
Topics discussed at Wednesday’s meeting are more
relevant to students than issues discussed at the other
town hall meetings, Anderson said.
“They’re the learners,” she said. “We’d
like to know what they feel they need.”
Many faculty members offered their views on what resources
the university needs to provide or improve.
The university needs to envision “the library of
the future,” said Bob Seal, university librarian.
Library improvements could include group study rooms,
better collections and electronic resources, wireless
Internet access, ample Internet bandwidth and more comfortable
learning areas, he said.
“The library is the heart of the academic enterprise,”
Seal said.
Gerald Gabel and Jose Feghali, professors of music,
said the music department needs new technology.
“We’ve been plagued for many years with sub-par
recording technology,” Gabel said.
Other faculty members emphasized the need for student-faculty
interaction.
“The learning resource is really us, and the technology
is just the facilitator,” said Bob Lusch, dean
of the business school.
Wehlburg agreed TCU should not have “technology
for technology’s sake.”
“We’re also talking about people,” she
said. “It’s not just the technology or classroom
seats.”
Students do not have to attend the meetings to express
an opinion, Anderson said. Students who have something
to say about the distribution of resources at TCU can
e-mail Anderson at s.anderson@tcu.edu or call her at
(817) 257-6572. The Learning Resources committee may
also send an e-mail questionnaire to students.
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