00:01I’d like to introduce our first Lightning Talk speaker today. His name is Jim Appleton.

00:04He is the president of the University of Redlands, where I’m employed, and I have to say that I am wholly...

00:11...subconsciously, and inexplicably responsible for the title of the talk that’s in the agenda for my president.

00:22Diana feels real awkward about this and I don’t at all.

00:25As we both just looked this morning to see the title which said, “Stuff We’re Doing.”

00:33But one of my friends, one of my friends who’s here said that is refreshingly simple from all the other stuff that we’ve been doing.

00:42But it actually was a placeholder.

00:43It was to be a placeholder in the agenda, and so I’m going to retitle it with the title that was intended...

00:50...and that is, The University of Redlands as a Spatially Infused Learning Community.

01:00And I need to say the University of Redlands is, very briefly, is a liberal arts university of 4,300 students.

01:05Yes, living side by side with Esri. We are not a branch of Esri. I just thought I’d mention that right off the bat.

01:14Small of enough to retain the best values of a liberal arts college...

01:19...and yet large enough to include strong interdisciplinary programs and be entrepreneurial.

01:25The niche is exactly the right size, I believe. Could be a bit larger.

01:29One of the elements of our strategic plan calls for the university to be an authoritative source...

01:34...for applied public policy analysis and research and spatial economic analysis.

01:40Stated more broadly, we intend to be a spatially infused learning community with geographic information science...

01:46...and geodesign broadly applied within our curriculum, our scholarship, and our research, and in our outreach of the university.

01:54In this regard, we will not only assist our students to develop critical thinking...

01:58...but we’ll continue to encourage them to use their critical skills to responsibly create and design...

02:05...their future and the futures of the communities in which they live.

02:10We feel very honored and privileged to have Carl join us for a full week of workshop next week...

02:18...as an illustration of the kind of emphasis we intend to give.

02:23Through very serious dialog and very intense work among our faculty and senior administrative leadership during this fall...

02:30...past fall semester, we have focused this interest on several fronts.

02:35And I’m going to refer from left to right along the third level of that chart...

02:41...but also note that that only states a hierarchical relationship with the university, and does not make explicit...

02:49...does not even imply by the chart, the matrix piece in this organization, which is equally as important...

02:57...in terms of the synergy that develops among these units, among the lead professionals...

03:03...among the cross-fertilization of teaching that can exist and will exist within the institution.

03:08So this is a bit misleading, but is useful, I think, to give an idea of where we are headed.

03:15From left to right, we have applied public policy in planning.

03:21We have authorized the expansion of our curriculum and applied public policy and planning...

03:26...and have encouraged our faculty to consider both an undergraduate major and graduate degree in applied public policy...

03:33...that can be distinguished in its application of spatial analysis.

03:38We already, now moving to the next, and it’s called Super Department ‘cause I’m afraid to name it.

03:44And we’ll name it down the road some. It may be a center. It may be a division.

03:50It may be a super department with name.

03:52We’ll worry about that in a little bit, but we have all, we already have a well-established...

03:57...undergraduate program in environmental studies.

04:00A superb master of science program in GIS science and management, and a large proportion...

04:06...over a third of our college of arts and science faculty, applying spatial and geographic methods...

04:13...in their classes across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

04:18We envision growth in addition in our curriculum in applied geography and in expansion of our master’s program...

04:24...in GIS science and management with blended and virtual elements.

04:28This is an intellectual and very important advocacy center in addition to the direct work that will be given...

04:36...through these lead faculty in the college of arts and sciences. And they will influence across the university.

04:45We have authorized a center in the school of business that will assist the faculty in establishing GIS and geodesign...

04:53...throughout the school as one of our brands in the school of business.

04:57Moving further to the right, institute for spatial economic analysis.

05:01And incidentally, some of the leads of these programs are here in these two days and will be in the workshop next week.

05:08We will be launching, within the next semester, an institute of spatial economic analysis in the school of business...

05:14...to focus first on this region, but with methodology that I think could eventually be applied widely.

05:22In the school of education, to go further, we have a program developed in the school of education...

05:27...to assist budding K through 12 teachers in the use of GIS in their future classrooms.

05:33To go to the Redlands Institute, responsible also to the vice president...

05:37...has a sponsored research portfolio of over 2.5 million with expertise in applied GIS research...

05:44...with focus on spatial decision support.

05:46We will be expanding this institute, reporting as I say, to the vice president...

05:51...to serve as the administrative business research service center.

05:55It is the business center for many of these university initiatives.

05:59We don’t have to duplicate all of the pieces across the board.

06:02This unit will serve as a focus of service and research and administrative...

06:10...and business for the campus with regard to these matters.

06:14And this does not necessarily have to be a final form of how we do these things...

06:20...but rather than directly confront what many of you know to be the politics of internal, internal to a university...

06:29...we have made the decision to use our present school and college of arts and science structure...

06:34...in which to embed these matters so that we can do work rather than do politics.

06:40Oh, but we’ve got to do some of that too, I’ve have to admit to you.

06:43While there are significant developments in these respective areas in many universities across the country...

06:48...some represented here, and while major research universities also include doctoral programs, and we do not intend that...

06:55...we are, at the University of Redlands, well on our way to being among the most spatially infused higher-education...

07:01...learning communities with GIS and geodesign broadly applied in curriculum, scholarship, and outreach activities.

07:08And it would be shortsighted of me not to acknowledge the enormous support, and advice and encouragement...

07:12...from Jack and Laura Dangermond, Bill Miller, and their Esri colleagues.

07:17Any of my colleagues who are participating in this summit and will be here, of course, this afternoon...

07:21...will be pleased to add additional information about our progress, discuss further our planning about the future...

07:26...and even quietly consider with us any interest that you might express in any position, in a position...

07:35...that we will announce in the near term, to attract an intellectual leader to occupy an additional endowed faculty position...

07:43...to assist us in the next stages of our university developments in these endeavors, particularly in the geodesign realm.

07:49So my thanks for giving...having the opportunity to present to you the excitement and experience...

07:57...that I have had as a president of the University of Redlands...

08:00...to help us mold and develop this thrust as one of the brands of the University of Redlands.

08:08We’re very encouraged by faculty support and by the potential of not only continuing to expand...

08:15...but to do what we do with great quality.

08:23I hope that we can assist even some of you in projects in the days ahead.

08:29Thanks for the opportunity to share this.