Fuchs to log off from CIT

When Ira Fuchs was appointed the University's vice president for computing and information technology 15 years ago, he stepped onto a campus where scarce technology resources were scattered across different departments.

On July 1, Fuchs will accept the newly created position of Vice President for Research in Information Technology at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He will leave the University a legacy of high-speed networking within dorms and classrooms and smoother Web access to academic materials — services on which University students now rely.

"Ira has made an extraordinary contribution to our own computer systems and infrastructure in the broadest possible sense," President Shapiro said yesterday. "But this is a new and intriguing thing to do, and I understand what's so attractive. I think it's a good thing for the world of scholarship. It will have benefits for everyone."

At the Mellon foundation, Fuchs will focus on the development of scholarly communication through emerging technologies, the expansion of digital libraries and the cost-effectiveness of technology in learning.

Fuchs also will direct an expansion of humanities projects already under way at the foundation, including an effort to digitize manuscripts, paintings, sculptures and textiles from around the world, while supplementing the images with related scholarly work.

"It's a fantastic opportunity to do great things for higher education on a national and a global scale," Fuchs said. "What excites me most is that it's so open to creative avenues — that there's nothing absolutely fixed about it other than I will be in a position to go look for the most interesting and emerging technologies and help bring some of them to fruition."

While taking on the new position, Fuchs said he will remain an adviser to the University, assisting in the creation of distance education systems and handling technical issues relating to campus. He said he also hopes to continue advising student independent work.

"There's a lot of madness right now about things like edu.com," Fuchs noted, referring to a popular e-commerce Website for students. "But no one doubts that higher education is being affected by technology, and that includes humanities and the arts."

While Shapiro said Fuchs' decision was understandable, he expressed disappointment that Fuchs had decided to reduce his role at the University so drastically.

"I found Ira to be just a terrific person to work with and it's been a great pleasure to work with him," Shapiro said, adding that the University would appoint an interim CIT director, and then conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement as soon as possible.

CIT spokeswoman Rita Saltz offered similar words of praise for Fuchs. "I can certainly say it's been challenging and exciting working under his leadership," she said. "When he came, this campus was not wired like it is. Something that all of you students take for granted took great vision on the part of Mr. Fuchs and great trust from the University to accomplish."