UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
“ His face was this close ,” Bible says , motioning to the size of his own head in the Zoom window through which the interview for this report was being conducted . “ And the staff on the call could all see that the President has a sense of humour , that he ’ s personable . Typically most people would see and interact with him in a formal setting , much further away , and with a more rigid structure , depending on what the occasion is . So one of the benefits that ' s come out of this is , by using these technologies , are opportunities for closer relationships to be formed . That applies with the faculty and their students , because now each student in a class of 200 sees their faculty member as close as sitting around a table .”
What is clear is that people will continue to be the central focus of UB ’ s digital strategy . Bible outlines two disparate , but very likely scenarios for students learning remotely during the pandemic . One retires to a cosy cottage in Cape Cod , with all the amenities and luxuries one could desire . Another moves back into a cramped co-living environment in the city , above a busy shop , and with limited access even to high speed internet .
“ Why should one have better than the other ?” he says . “ The technology then becomes the decision-maker of who ' s going to be successful . So that ' s shame on us . As the CIO , I ' m kinda technical ,” he says . " I have problems when I ' m at home connecting and I get frustrated by it . And so if I ' m frustrated by it and I know who to call to get help , what about the faculty member or the student ? This is somewhere I think we need to , and will work towards , being better .”
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