cluckett's blog

Registration is now open for the 2010 Southwest Regional Conference, "The Ever-Evolving Role of IT," February 17–19 in Austin. Join top leaders in higher education technology in a convenient and affordable setting this winter—register now to save money with low early-bird rates.

The conference program will follow these tracks:

In cooperation with NACUBO and EDUCAUSE, NACUA will host a virtual seminar, Outsourcing Email and Other Institutional IT Services: Cloud Contracting, on December 10, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., EST. The program will explore the practical advantages and disadvantages associated with the outsourcing of e-mail and other IT services, as well as a systematic review of the key legal and practical considerations in outsourcing. Browse related EDUCAUSE resources on cloud computing.

The November/December 2009 EDUCAUSE Review is now available online. This issue offers IT leaders' ideas and insights on campuses and the greener future, climate change and higher education, low-carbon computing, above-campus IT services, the role of technology in service delivery, and good communication for successful IT organizations. Click the orange RSS sidebar graphic on the EDUCAUSE Review homepage to access the XML required to subscribe.

Thank you for joining us last week in Denver for EDUCAUSE 2009. Select session recordings are now available online. We will send participants an e-mail in the coming weeks, which will include access information for many more resources including webcasts, podcasts, slide presentations, various social media summaries, and more.

EDUCAUSE announced last week during the EDUCAUSE 2009 Annual Conference that it has joined the InCommon Federation, the U.S. identity and access management federation. In an identity federation like InCommon, participating identity providers (such as colleges and universities) and resource providers (like EDUCAUSE) agree on a set of shared policies, processes, and technology standards. This greatly streamlines collaboration among multiple organizations because federation members agree on these policies and processes once, rather than each time they sign a contract with a new partner. Read more in the press release.

EDUCAUSE announced the appointment of Linda Thor, president of Rio Salado College, to a four-year term on the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors effective January 1, 2010. Thor’s appointment was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the board at its November 2 meeting. Read more in the press release.