“ OUR WORKFORCE HAS HARDLY MISSED A BEAT WHILE DEALING WITH AN ENTIRELY NEW WAY OF WORKING ”
blind spots . Being conscious of them and surrounding yourself with team members who complement those risks creates a balanced leadership team , and I have been extraordinarily fortunate in that regard .
Q . HOW HAVE YOU REACTED TO THE NEW NORMAL OF COVID-19 ?
» It is an understatement to say that COVID has further amplified the University ’ s dependency on technology . This event has been seismic for the higher education industry and has upended literally centuries of tradition and methods . And while early adoption of technologies has always been a major part of research institutions , there is no doubt that the pace and criticality of broad-based adoption has never had more significant consequence to the very lifeblood of what we do . I am incredibly impressed with how faculty , staff , and students have worked through all these changes . Our workforce has hardly missed a beat while dealing with an entirely new way of working .
Q . TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE PANDEMIC IMPACTED EXISTING PROJECTS ?
» Essentially , the entire institution has been operating under a large-scale business continuity plan since this began . From an IT perspective , we consciously reforecast and acknowledged some delays in our planned activities , particularly those programs impacted by the limited physical campus access in the early stages , and the redeployment of team members who have been building out the responses supporting public health , remote work , and online learning . Many of our colleagues are dealing with their own set of COVID impacts and have been willing partners in rethinking priorities in the context of the pandemic . That said , this team is incredibly aligned to our strategic plan , and has put in a herculean amount of effort and time to keep us on track with our long-range goals . The impact has also not been evenly distributed across the team , so many planned activities are moving along well , and I expect we will achieve the majority of what we set out to do this fiscal year .
Q . WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES GOING FORWARDS ?
» Having now exposed the entire faculty and student population to online tools , how do we best align their use with our educational strategies and goals ? Having exposed our workforce to working from home , how do we leverage these learnings to rethink working at Yale , and how do we envision the future culture of the institution that will be influenced by these choices ? In our globally connected world , should some aspects of our public health measures stay ? These are all new strategy questions for the institution that have been enabled by an urgent technology response . I don ’ t want the tail wagging the dog and we will make no assumptions . Like most organizations with a 320-year history , Yale is thoughtful and deliberate in weighing these kinds of major choices . Just because we have proven we can do something doesn ’ t mean we should . Strategy first . technologymagazine . com 23