Strategy:  Provide the physical facilities, information resources and technology infrastructure necessary to achieve national and international distinction and leadership in learning, discovery, and engagement.

Point People:  Peter Siegel, Marilyn Sharrow, John Meyer, Stan Nosek

NOTE:  The third-year implementation report for this strategy is divided into four parts:  information and educational technology, library, campus operations, and capital projects.

INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Narrative Summary of Fourth Year Implementation Efforts:

In support of the UC Davis strategy to “provide the physical facilities, information resources and technology infrastructure necessary to achieve national and international distinction and leadership in learning, discovery, and engagement,” the campus pursued several initiatives and made a number of advances during the 2006-07 academic year.  This section identifies the partnerships that have developed in support of this strategy, and outlines the work of Information and Educational Technology (IET) and other campus units to facilitate the development and implementation of business applications, collaborative programs, and flexible educational technology resources.

UC Davis information technology stewardship and strategic directions:

Roadmap for administrative IT services. A campus workgroup, endorsed by the chancellor and the Council of Vice Chancellors, was formed in March 2007 to develop a concise roadmap for administrative information technology services at UC Davis. The workgroup is tasked with identifying how the current architectures of core campus administrative IT services serve the UC Davis community; articulating how a coordinated or integrated architectural strategy over the next five years can improve the services from a faculty, staff and student perspective; and documenting a roadmap and a timeline for administrative IT services at UC Davis. http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/initiatives.cfm

Administrative computing policy. In spring 2007, a new administrative computing policy defining clear oversight for review and coordination of campus administrative systems that meet one or more specified criteria was circulated for comment. When implemented, the policy is expected to promote a long-term integrated systems approach for the campus. http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/adminpolicy.cfm

Cyberinfrastructure. Cyberinfrastructure in support of research, teaching and learning has emerged as a strong theme on the national scene, and at UC Davis.  In April, IET and Office of Research hosted a workshop on cyberinfrastructure for researchers. The program featured a series of presentations by representatives from Educause, Office of the President, cyberinfrastructure agencies (TeraGrid, Internet2, CENIC, Open Science Grid) and by UC Davis faculty members representing five different schools and colleges. Existing cyberinfrastructure resources were discussed, along with needs and opportunities. vpiet.ucdavis.edu/cyberinfrastructure.cfm

CalREN high-performance research bandwidth upgrade. A team of IET engineers and technicians upgraded the UC Davis fiber optic connection to the CalREN HPR network, increasing the bandwidth from 1 Gb/sec to 10 Gb/sec. Campus researchers can use the enhanced bandwidth to more rapidly collect and share large-scale datasets in service of numerous research activities. High Energy Physics and Genomics are among the first research groups that are upgrading high performance computing clusters to take advantage of the additional bandwidth.

Data center planning. The growing appetite for data center facilities and services, as well as capacity issues for existing campus facilities, has led to an initiative to identify and analyze short- and long-range solutions.  Data center planning has been divided into three phases.  The first phase was completed in August 2007. It involved limited renovation of the existing data center, adding power and air conditioning capacity to machine room space as well as capacity for approximately 10 additional racks.  Phase II would provide for the additional 24 racks needed to meet projected needs until approximately 2009.  Phase III refers to the “long-term” planning horizon (2009 and beyond) and contemplates the construction of a new facility, expansion of the existing facility, and/or other approaches to address anticipated capacity needs over the next ten years.

Telecommunications strategic directions. In Spring 2007, a strategic planning document was developed that outlines the need to tune, reinforce, and develop the campus telecommunications infrastructure over the next several years. The document identifies the current state and limitations of campus telecommunications services and infrastructure and provides a set of alternatives for campus consideration that could mitigate the impact of this aging telecommunications environment on UC Davis’ goals for national distinction as an R1 research institution. The strategic planning document was discussed with the Office of Resource Management and Planning and with Interim Provost Horwitz in summer 2007. It will be shared with the campus community in fall 2007.

Information technology in support of campus business:

Kuali. UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara are active participants in the development of the Kuali Financial System (KFS), along with Indiana University, University of Arizona, Cornell University, and others. The primary development of KFS will be completed in July 2008.  accounting.ucdavis.edu/projects/UCDKuali/

Effort Reporting. A new Effort Reporting System (ERS) was released for campuswide use in March 2007. Effort reporting is the method of certifying to granting agencies (such as the federal government) that the effort required as a condition of a grant award has actually been completed. The new Web-based system replaces the paper Personnel Activity Report (PAR) forms used to certify effort on federally-sponsored research projects. The new system is expected to save time and money. accounting.ucdavis.edu/projects/ERS/

MyTravel. MyTravel, a new Web-based system for reporting travel and entertainment expenses, is gaining ground at UC Davis. MyTravel streamlines the entire reimbursement process from capturing receipts electronically to electronically routing the report through the approval process. The pilot project continues to generate many helpful enhancements and suggestions. As of Spring 2007, about 60 departments were using MyTravel on campus and at the UC Davis Health System. The rollout will continue throughout 2007 and into 2008. travel.ucdavis.edu/mytravel/

Faculty Merit and Promotion Project. In spring 2007, the sponsors of the MyInfoVault project, Academic Personnel and IET, made the decision to delay the release of the next version of the system while critical changes and improvements are made to the software. The new targeted release date is early Spring 2008. As of April 2007, schools and colleges representing 123 departments and 2,800 accounts were participating in the pilot. MyInfoVault will make possible the development, routing, and approval of faculty merit and promotion actions. myinfovault.ucdavis.edu  

Electronic Research Administration Project. Once implemented, the eRA system will support all aspects of research proposal development, tracking and administration. The implementation of the “proposal development” phase of the system, which will support system-to-system submissions of federal grants, has been put on hold for a year. Continuous changes with grants.gov, and delays in creating a system-to-system process for all federal granting agencies continue to escalate costs for deployment. Additionally, approximately 60% of campus research proposals are non-federal and will require duplicate data entry in order to capture relevant data within the system. At the end of the year, the campus will reevaluate whether or not it should proceed with the Proposal Development module. The project is sponsored by the Office of Research.

AD and Exchange Service. The collaboration between Office of Administration (OOA) and IET reached several milestones this past year. The entire OOA and IET staff are now using Exchange for their email, calendaring, and file sharing needs. Standardization on methods for group policies, email services, and automated security and system updates are among the benefits for technical staff. End-users benefit from shared calendaring, file sharing, 24/7 remote email and calendar access and centralized security and system updates. The centralized Exchange services, hosted by the Data Center, are also used by Office of Research, Office of Resource Management and Planning, and Student Affairs. xeda.ucdavis.edu

Banner Student Information System. In November 2006, Banner was upgraded to the new Web-based Banner 7 version. The technical team worked with representatives from each of the core offices—Student Affairs Office, Office of the University Registrar, Financial Aid Office, Undergraduate Admissions, Office of Graduate Studies, and Student Accounting. Because upgrading such a highly customized system is complex, the process for implementing the change began several years ago and required extensive coordination. This year, the SIS oversight committee is developing a Banner ‘revitalization’ plan. sis.ucdavis.edu  

GradSMAART. The Office of Graduate Studies has launched an initiative, called GradSMAART, to install a system to improve the management of graduate student admissions, evaluation, and tracking. The components will include an online application process; a custom-developed admission review and evaluation system; a data mart for tracking students, and an alumni tracking database. ccfit.ucdavis.edu/gradsmaart.cfm

Information technology in support of learning and teaching:

New learning management and collaboration system. SmartSite, UC Davis’ instance of Sakai, is emerging from its pilot phase and preparing for its official roll-out. To help faculty begin their transition to SmartSite, two trainers were hired in January to develop a curriculum of biweekly SmartSite and educational technology-related classes (trc.ucdavis.edu/TRC/calendar ). In addition, tools for exporting course Web sites, tests, and quizzes created in MyUCDavis into SmartSite are now available. As of April 2007, SmartSite had grown to include over 6,000 individual workspaces and approximately 1,000 course and project sites. An extensive awareness, support and training program has been developed in preparation for the official Fall 07 roll-out.  smartsite.ucdavis.edu

Online teaching evaluations. Each quarter, more than 8,000 UC Davis courses and instructors are evaluated by students using paper forms. This places a heavy burden on staff who must process forms and transcribe written comments before releasing the evaluations to instructors. Other universities, including three UC campuses, have recognized the inefficiency of the paper-based system for course evaluation and have implemented secure online evaluations.  The CCFIT Online Teaching Evaluations Work Group investigated these issues in 2006-07 and submitted a preliminary report in June 2007. ccfit.ucdavis.edu

Podcasting. The popularity of the campus digital lecture recording and distribution program continues to grow. Last Spring, lectures for 18 undergraduate courses were podcast, and a total of 334 lectures were uploaded. Of the 3008 students enrolled in these courses, over 2088 (69% of enrolled students) downloaded MP3 lectures or subscribed to course podcasts. Of the 2088 users, 24% had used the system during an earlier quarter while 76% were new users. podcast.ucdavis.edu

Communication and collaboration tools.  A pilot was conducted to test and compare Adobe Connect Pro (previously Macromedia Breeze Meeting) and Elluminate, two top ranked online communications and collaborations applications.  Although the user interface for Elluminate was preferred over Adobe Connect in the eight key areas of evaluation (accessibility, video capacity, number of users on campus, cross platform support, performance under increasing concurrent users, standards based development, content development capabilities, and cost), Adobe came out ahead of Elluminate.  Therefore, Adobe Connect will be offered to the campus community for both business and instructional uses.  iet.ucdavis.edu/teaching/commtool.cfm

Personal response system. After reviewing five different personal response systems (or “clickers”), a group of UC Davis instructors and staffers selected InterWrite’s Personal Response System for the 2006-07 academic year. Having a single PRS will benefit students by allowing clickers to work in all UC Davis classes. Instructors coordinate ordering the clickers for their students’ use through the UC Davis bookstore. cts.ucdavis.edu/prs/

Classroom and lab upgrades.  This past year, a number of upgrades were completed in general assignment classrooms and computer labs. A brief summary follows (see also statistics):

• Three laboratory classrooms/lecture halls previously used by the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital were renovated, converted into general assignment classrooms, and equipped with complete new A-V systems. This work was done to accommodate the anticipated 1,000 additional students attending Davis and create more classroom space for freshmen courses.

• Giedt Hall, a new classroom building consisting of three large lecture halls and two 40-seat classrooms, was completed. New media systems were installed -- dual data projection in the three lecture halls with two separate screens, document cameras in all five rooms, and digital recording systems to allow all lectures to be podcast from the three lecture halls.  

• New equipment -- including document cameras, assistive listening devices, and digital recorders – was installed in various classrooms and lecture halls around campus.

• Last year, the University Registrar approved funding to replace the audio cassette recorders in 10 lecture halls with digital recorders and to replace the associated audio inputs and outputs in the media cabinets.  These units were installed during summer 2006. With the popularity and increasing use of podcasting, digital recorders have since been installed in five more lecture halls, bringing the total number of classrooms with installed digital recording capability to 18.
  
• In December, UC Davis medical students gained a large new home, the Education Building and F. William Blaisdell, M.D. Medical Library. At more than 121,000 square feet, the building has become the center of activity and education for the School of Medicine. The building’s classrooms share a versatile video communications network and help the school shift its instruction toward interactive learning done in small groups.

In addition to a number of equipment upgrades, improvements were completed in several computer labs: a new computer classroom opened in 2060 SLB; 163 Shields was renovated with new furniture, an improved layout, and additional stations; and 93 Hutchison was upgraded to accommodate multimedia classes. Wireless printing was introduced in October 2006 as a new service. Laptop users can now print remotely to one of several computer rooms, thereby bypassing long lines at the main computer rooms on campus (wirelessprinting.ucdavis.edu). Also put into effect this year were new printing rates that encourage responsible printing, control costs, and reduce paper waste. iet.ucdavis.edu/rooms/

Campus emergency planning:

UC Davis is developing a multi-faceted plan to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a possible emergency. As part of these planning efforts, the following activities took place in 2006-07:

• IET continues to support the campus emergency planning efforts by working collaboratively with other departments to identify critical functions, mitigation strategies, priorities and interdependencies.  Examples of this include the development of the emergency call center for University Communications, participation on the Emergency Phone Committee, establishment of emergency communications for the Executive Policy Team, and ongoing technical support for the Emergency Operations Center.
• In fall 2006, representatives of the Police Department, Operations & Maintenance, Campus Emergency Management, and IET formed a committee to study campus emergency communications. As of late August 2007, negations for an automated campus emergency notification system were in the final phase. Using an automated notification system, emergency response coordinators will be able to provide accurate, timely information to any number of subscribers on multiple devices (office phone, home phone, cell phone, email, etc.) with a single outbound call or email. Implementation is expected to begin this fall, once a confidence test has been completed.
• Discussions with the UC Davis Health System about where the two institutions could be mutually supportive in an emergency and about collocation of equipment.
• Implementation and management of the GETS (Government Emergency Telecommunications Service) program. GETS provides key campus personnel a high probability of completion for their phone calls when normal calling methods are unsuccessful. The system is designed for periods of severe network congestion or disruption, and works through a series of enhancements to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
• Participation in the UC-wide technical evaluation of “People Locator,” a Web-based service developed by UC Berkeley that allows authorized individuals to post messages regarding their health and/or whereabouts for other authorized individuals (e.g., friends, family, and coworkers) to view – much like a public bulletin board. 
• Participation in the UC-wide technical evaluation of “ReStarting Berkeley,” an application developed at UC Berkeley for business continuity planning.  UC Berkeley's Continuity Planning Tool will be converted into a form appropriate for, and available to, other members of the UC system. IET will participate in a test case for the new application. 
• Development of emergency Web and bulk email communication processes and policy.

For more information about the campus emergency planning efforts, see safetyservices.ucdavis.edu .

Computing and network security:

UC Davis Cyber-safety program. This year, the UC Davis Cyber-Safety Oversight Committee was established to periodically review program enhancements and reporting efforts. In addition, the UC Davis cyber-safety program features two new components: Whole Disk Encryption Subsidization and Firewall Subsidization, both of which were initiated to assist units previously precluded from complying with campus cyber-safety security standards due to financial constraints. In February, the IT Security Coordinator and the Vice Provost-IET provided campus administrators with a UC Davis information security status report. The discussion included a brief overview of the UCLA security breach, highlights from the 2006 campus security reports, and an outline of 2007 initiatives to help units enhance compliance. In June 2007, campus units were asked to develop their 2007 compliance reports using a secure online survey. The survey was available for report submissions until early September. security.ucdavis.edu/cybersafety.cfm

Identity theft prevention. A campus directive (06-116) released in October 2006 outlined several steps that members of the campus community should take to protect personal information. The directive also encouraged individuals to work with their technical support staff to prevent identity theft. In support of this goal, two security tools, Cornell Spider and PowerGREP, were made available. These tools, free to campus users, make it possible to search systems for files that contain personally identifiable information such as Social Security and credit card numbers. security.ucdavis.edu/id_theft.cfm
Firewall subsidy program. In March, a new program was launched to help campus units meet UC Davis Cyber-safety policy mandates and to encourage broader campus usage of VLAN firewalls. Through the new Firewall Subsidy program, IET made $170,000 available each year for the next three years to reimburse campus units for the acquisition and first-year support costs of new VLAN firewalls. security.ucdavis.edu/firewalls.cfm

Security auditing tool. A new resource is available to help technical staff assess the level of cyber-safety compliance in their VLANs. This resource, called the self-directed Nessus scan tool, enables technical staff to scan their VLAN or specific systems on their VLAN with the full complement of Nessus ‘safe’ plug-ins. The tool provides the option to scan systems immediately or to schedule one-time or recurring scans. Information obtained using the self-directed Nessus scan is intended to complement the data from campus scans. security.ucdavis.edu/patch.cfm

Identity management. In February 2007, an overview of the Burton Group report, which sets forth an identity management architecture and migration strategy for UC Davis, was presented to the Campus Council for Information Technology (CCFIT). This IT advisory group voiced support for this project. Earlier in the year, the Technology Infrastructure Forum (TIF) reviewed the proposed identity management architecture and indicated that implementation of the architecture is the most important information technology project for UC Davis. vpiet.ucdavis.edu/initiatives.cfm

Web single sign-on. The campus’ new Web single sign-on service, called CAS (Central
Authentication Service), was released in December 2006. CAS provides a robust security architecture and various client modules, and is used by more than 50 universities and organizations worldwide. CAS will eventually replace DistAuth, the current Web single sign-on service for UC Davis. middleware.ucdavis.edu

Security software and training. Several software programs were introduced to the campus community in 2006-07 in support of the cyber-safety program.

• In December, the Sophos anti-virus software was made available for free to all departments, faculty, staff and students for use on their home or university-owned computers. Sophos will help protect servers, desktops, laptops, and handheld devices for five years. As part of this campus-wide agreement, Sophos Mobile Security is available to students, staff, faculty, and departments for use on university- and personally-owned Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone editions at no individual or campus-unit cost. In addition, a two-day Sophos training program was offered to campus technical support staff in early summer.
  
  
• In late February, Pointsec encryption products were made available, and a program was launched under which IET covers 100% of the cost of Pointsec for PC whole disk encryption licenses for individuals and departments demonstrating the need for encryption services. As part of this program, IET provides support services including central key retention, consultation and pre-installation assistance. security.ucdavis.edu/encryption.cfm

• A 90-minute information session was held in March in the Silo Cabernet Room for technical support staff on using Cornell Spider to find restricted data and deploying Pointsec for PC to encrypt a hard drive.

• In June, IET hosted the 2007 IT Security Symposium. Held on the UC Davis campus, the symposium featured 50 sessions and over 500 hours of hands-on instructional labs and lectures on current security issues. The event provided a valuable venue for campus technical staff shared their security expertise with their colleagues. About 240 attendees from UC Davis and other UC campuses were able to take advantage of the security lectures and training. itsecuritysymposium.ucdavis.edu/

Improvements to campus email infrastructure and services:

Spam filtering measures. On November 29, after consulting with campus constituents, IET implemented new spam filtering measures to give users more control and flexibility with their spam filtering settings, and to reduce the amount of spam processed and stored by the campus email servers. Changes to the filtering service included: automatically rejecting high-scoring spam; filtering low- and moderate-scoring spam to UCD-spam folders; reducing the spam folder storage time from four weeks to two; and eliminating quarantine folders, which previously stored high-scoring spam. http://email.ucdavis.edu/secure/spamfilter.php

Email architecture. In spring and summer 2007, a new email architecture system, Cyrus, was implemented in an effort to improve email performance and user response time, allow faster access to mailboxes by Web-based email programs, and improve the system's storage of messages. The move to Cyrus will enable the campus to consider additional improvements, including replacing the locally developed Web-mail program, Geckomail, and increasing mailbox quotas. The conversion to Cyrus was completed in August 2007. http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/email.storage.cfm   

Email proxy service. A major improvement to the UC Davis email system—the addition of a proxy service—was completed during fall 2006. The proxy service now lets administrators balance UC Davis’ increasingly heavy email loads without users having to change any settings, and technical staff can simply use the setting “mail.ucdavis.edu” for all incoming POP/IMAP mail server settings. Except for some brief periods of downtime, moving the servers to the proxy service was invisible for most email users. One exception was for people using older versions of Eudora, which did not recognize the new proxy’s security certificate (and didn’t satisfy UC Davis’ cyber-safety standards). http://email.ucdavis.edu

Email service for students. An evaluation of options for improving electronic mail services for students was conducted this year. A recent analysis of email accounts indicates that UC Davis has 64,500 personal email accounts, of which approximately 30,000 are student accounts. Most students access email through MyUCDavis, or directly from the Geckomail Web interface. A comprehensive campus consultation process was initiated in early January, and feedback from students was solicited using focus groups and surveys. Following this community feedback phase, the campus is now preparing to pilot Google’s GMail program in Fall 2007. vpiet.ucdavis.edu/student.email.cfm

Improvements to telecommunications and networking infrastructure and services:

Indoor cellular coverage. UC Davis is improving cellular coverage by allowing cellular carriers to place cell sites on the main campus. Each carrier will have at least one new cell site on the main campus by the end of 2008. Campuswide indoor coverage on the other hand remains spotty. To address this concern, IET is assuming responsibility to manage and install indoor systems. A team is investigating indoor antenna systems (to enhance the signal of all carriers), developing standards for indoor cellular coverage for new construction, and investigating funding models to install indoor antennas in existing buildings.

Wireless. In January 2007, the Campus Council for Information Technology (CCFIT) established a workgroup to provide ongoing guidance to IET in the prioritization of wireless deployments and to make recommendations to the Vice Provost-IET in two general areas: physical deployment of wireless access points; and centralized management components necessary to provide wireless access to all classrooms, public spaces, and administrative buildings by the end of 2007-08. A recommendation from CCFIT is expected in fall 2007. In parallel efforts, IET deployed a pilot wireless network called Moobilenet-X that uses the 802.1x wireless protocol to provide encryption, enhanced authentication, and improved performance as a parallel service on the existing campus wireless network. vpiet.ucdavis.edu/init_moobilenet.cfm

Student Phone Services. An automated phone ordering system was made available in fall 2006 via MyPhone, a student services Web portal. The system will walk students through all voice service options, create an electronic work order, print out a work ticket for a field technician, close the order, and bill the service to the student’s account. This is a prototype for future automated service order processing. http://myphone.ucdavis.edu

Next Generation Digital Loop Carrier. UC Davis uses NGDLC to provide voice services to eleven campus locations. An implementation strategy has been developed and initial steps taken to convert various off-campus locations, currently served by AT&T CENTREX service, to NGDLC by using dual optical fiber transport paths back to the main switch. In addition, NCDLC will be deployed in remote geographical “districts” on the main campus using a central hub and installing copper cable to the smaller buildings throughout the district.

Voice over IP and ‘on-demand/always-on’ distribution of video broadcasts. UC Davis is researching the possibility of offering VoIP as a standard phone service to campus. The project team is investigating service requirements (e.g., enhanced 911 auto-location for emergency services, quality of service monitoring and control, phone number format transitions, and ADA compliance). In addition, planning is under way to explore a comprehensive service to distribute video broadcasts to TV broadcast networks, venues on campus, and the UC Davis Medical Center. Broadcast venues would have either “on-demand” or “always-on” connections, depending on what they need. This service would support the campus’ growing need to educate, promote, compete and communicate through video broadcasts, both internally and globally.

On-campus telephone and network service at off-campus locations. The campus telephony and network services were expanded to off-campus locations by replacing voice circuits and T-1 network connections subcontracted through AT&T with new UC Davis fiber optic connections. By running digital voice and campus network service through the fiber optic connection to the campus Network Operations Center, the level of telecommunications and network services at off-campus locations was elevated to standards comparable to on-campus service.

In 2007-08, priorities in support of the campus strategic plan will include:

1. Develop infrastructure and services in support of teaching, learning, and research
• Launch SmartSite in fall, providing numerous methods and opportunities for training and support; evaluate in summer 2008
• Integrate IET instructional technology units to strengthen collaboration and communications, and ultimately improve services to the campus community
• Collaborate with the Teaching Resources Center to introduce new technologies in support of teaching and learning -- develop Phase 1 of a web portal for faculty who need to organize, order, request services and/or support for instruction; pilot a CCFIT proposal for Educational Technology T.A.s resident in departments; improve assessment of educational technologies; etc.
• Explore CCFIT’s proposal for online teaching and course evaluation system
• Collaborate with the Library to evaluate ARTStor/California Digital Library as a digital repository and archiving system.
2. Enhance campus IT infrastructure and services
• Define and implement new campus telecommunications directions
• Pursue short- and long-term data center expansion plan (as outlined in "Major IT Advances and Ongoing Programs")
• Pursue improvements to campus email and calendaring services (Geckomail replacement, Google pilot, Exchange services)
• Implement venues for cross-campus collaborative IT architecture and application development (‘meta-wiki’ for developer community)
• Develop and implement plan to ‘revitalize’ the Banner Student Information System; identify methods to help make Banner more responsive to the functional needs of the campus. 
3. Strengthen campus IT planning and coordination
• Inventory and review campus IT administrative services (IT roadmap)
• Develop a UC Davis information technologies strategic plan; integrate recommendations from the 2007 Chancellor’s Fall Conference (Theme: “Information Technology: A Vehicle for Innovation at UC Davis”)
• Establish a UC Davis Architectural Design Group to develop an Identity Management Plan for the campus.
4. Secure campus resources, systems, and data
• Promote campus community compliance with Cyber-safety security standards
• Enhance campus community reporting on Cyber-safety security standards beyond the seven standards currently subject to reporting requirements.
• Implement a program to identify and remediate security vulnerabilities in development, test and production Web application environments.
• Enhance the detection and termination of malicious network traffic at the campus border.

See http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/initiatives.cfm for descriptions and ongoing updates.

Please see http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/metrics.cfm for 2006-07 and ongoing technology-related metrics.

LIBRARY

Point Person:  Marilyn Sharrow

Narrative Summary of Fourth Year Implementation Efforts:

The General Library continued to employ strategies targeted at sustaining the strength of library collections and the provision of the latest technological tools and instructional programs that facilitate efficient access to them.  The General Library made a concerted effort to provide welcoming library facilities that drew more than 1.4 million users in 2006-2007.

The General Library also continued to meet and succeed in confronting the challenges of the budget, with a particular focus on the provision of the research materials needed by faculty, patient care professionals, academic staff and students.

Challenges related to the acquisition and provision of research materials include the continuing trend to report out information in a broadening array of formats (i.e., more than 50% of new research information is now acquired electronically) while sustaining cost increases for their acquisition.  2006-2007 expenditures for research materials approached $8 million dollars -- a nearly 25% increase in such expenditures over 2005-2006.

The General Library continued in 2006-2007 to aggressively recruit librarians and support staff to fill in behind retirements and normal attrition.  In 2006-2007 three librarians and 38 support staff were recruited and hired to maintain and diversify services provided to library patrons to enhance their access to research information held in print collections, locally held electronic media and increasingly provided electronically through online vendor gateways.  At the close of fiscal year 2006-2007, two librarians and nine staffwere under recruitment.  

The General Library again made a concerted effort in 2006-2007 to maximize the skills and proficiencies of librarians and support staff through professional development and training.  In particular, the Library focused on the provision of training that honed skills related to the evolving way information is acquired, processed, and disseminated in order that scholars can be assured that library collections sufficiently meet their research, instruction, and patient care needs and that librarian and support staff skills enable scholars to learn the most efficient paths to access these collections.

Advances and Ongoing Programs Consistent with Strategy:

Academic and support staff retirements and the increasingly sophisticated skill sets required to assist patrons access newly acquired research points out the essential need to maintain a strong and well trained cadre of library employees  A review and assessment of librarian subject knowledge continued in 2006-2007 so that the professional skills held by a changing librarian workforce were closely matched to the most appropriate area of campus research or curricular endeavor (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/about/subspec/).  The General Library’s cohort of academic librarians numbers 56, which remains 6 FTE lower than it was in the early 1990s (62).  Ongoing planning by library management ensures that the appropriate level of academic and support staff are distributed where the greatest needs exist. 

Notable Program Initiatives Consistent with Strategy:

• Library Explorers Group (representative from library departments engaged in instruction) devoted academic year 2006-2007 to learning and experimenting with features associated with Sakai and Breeze.

• Library Explorers Group worked closely with MediaWorks to test and to create a “collaborator” role for campus project-focused SmartSite sites given that SmartSite will be officially implemented as the campus production learning management system in fall 2007.

• Faculty/subject specialists partner to identify and acquire unique research materials.  Such materials are occasionally found in journals that do not fit the UC Davis collecting profile but nonetheless prove valuable to faculty interests or projects.
  
  
• Continuing faculty/library staff collaboration to support course reserves to purchase print and media resources and to pay copyright fees to support electronic delivery of content

Instruction Program

The General Library’s Unit Priority to support access to collections and research materials was successfully met by the General Library Instruction Services Department in 2006-2007 (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/instruc/).  More than 10,000 faculty, staff, patient care professionals and students attended in excess of 500 instructional sessions supported by or sponsored by the Instruction Services Department in 2006-2007.

      Notable Resource Awareness Campaigns Consistent with Strategy

• Partnerships with librarian subject specialists and with the Teaching Resource Center (TRC) and the University Writing Program to present instructional sessions to TAs and undergrads

• Public relations initiatives highlighting library services and collections (i.e., posters in the Memorial Union, library facilities, Unitrans buses)

• Production of film shorts on topics that enhance library instructional sessions  (e.g. copyright)

Budget Challenges

The General Library successfully met the challenges of providing information resources to scholars while living within confines of budget appropriations.

Notable Program Initiatives Consistent with Strategy:

• Wise use of salary savings

• Maintaining support for research through the acquisition of library materials in 2006-2007 required an increase in expenditures over 2005-2006 of approximately 25%.  The increase in expenditures is most directly related to additional support to acquire CDL brokered electronic packages, inflation and the continuing library goal to support new and emerging programs of excellence (i.e., Middle Eastern Studies).

• Collection assessment and review to be sure materials acquired met research and curricular priorities of the campus.

• Working with faculty and the Academic Senate Committee on Library to ensure that library collections remained strong and vital meeting research and curricular expectations (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/about/schcomm/).    

Technology Enhancements

Effective use of an extensive array of information and research tools is dependent on state-of-the-art technology and software.  The General Library continues to make significant advancements in this regard in support of scholars.

Notable Program Initiatives Consistent with Strategy:

• The ongoing refinement of the General Library’s Online Public Access Catalog.  The refinements incorporate the results of periodic patron usability studies. The ExLibris software supporting the Harvest Catalog (harvest.lib.ucdavis.edu) continues to be refined and upgraded.  Software upgrades provide greater efficiencies in access to scholarly information held in General Library collections.

• The General Library is currently partnering with IET in the deployment of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to provide easy access to our electronic resources across a greater variety of platforms and ISP providers.

• The networking infrastructure continues to be upgraded to Category 6 wiring for Shields Library providing staff work performance efficiencies.

• The General Library has more than 220 public service workstations.  The technology at these workstations is upgraded on a three-year replacement cycle.  

• The General Library experienced an increased demand for wireless access in 2006-2007; to meet the wireless traffic needs a new high density wireless application (ARUBA) is being deployed allowing for more consistent coverage in the Library for the thousands of patrons using this service.

• The General Library continues to maintain firewalls for all its VLANs and continues to monitor potential threats and assaults on library systems in compliance with the Campus Cyber Safety Policy. The Library leads the campus in compliance with all of the Cyber Safety Policy guidelines.  

• The General Library implemented a wiki tool for library staff where reference librarians can share information regarding user class assignments and updates/tips on using information resources, etc.

• Continuing participation in CDL Digital Preservation program initiatives

• Public workstations in libraries near the information desks and reference desks were installed with Kerberos authorization capability to allow playing CDs, DVDs, and downloading to USB drives making it more convenient for librarians to assist users with information resources questions and for users to take-away research results in a convenient medium.

Facilities, Staffing & Program Improvements and Efficiencies

Illustrations of the activities and planning of General Library departments to foster collaborative programs and research supports can be found in a browse of the General Library’s web page at www.lib.ucdavis.edu.

Notable Program Initiatives Consistent with Strategy:

• Successful partnership with the Mondavi Food & Wine Institute

• Events showcasing Viticulture and Enology collections and various Special Collections 

• Acceptance, relocation, initial processing of materials for the Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western Research Center Collection (HWRC)

• Consulting with faculty to acquire additional materials for the (HWRC) using endowment funds associated with the Harrison bequest and strengthening the library’s holdings in Western Americana

• Acceptance and initial processing Saratoga Horticultural Collection archive

• Mediaworks & General Library cooperative photo archive digitization pilot project

• The General Library participated in ARL’s MINES survey (Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services) to assist with the campus effort to determine a more accurate indirect cost model. (http://www.arl.org/stats/newmeas/mines.html).

• Content coverage challenges associated with migration from Blackwell to Yankee Book Peddler as book approval vendor for the Humanities/Social Sciences (thereby improving approval plan subject coverage).

• Participation in the UC Conser Funnel project adding improved access points to OCLC serial records

• General Facilities Improvements 

More than 1.4 million patrons entered General Library facilities in 2006-2007.  To meet their expectations for a welcoming environment and ease of efficiency of collection use, the following advancements were made:

• Electrical service capacity has been increased providing more places for patrons to plug in laptops and associated 

• Government  Information & Maps created of a self-service technology center to handle library acquired/licensed information resources.  The center includes: 

• GIS workstations

• Microformat reader/printer & scanning output stations

• Kerberos-enabled workstations which include virtual pc software to enhance output options (download to USB drive or burn CD) and to run CDs, DVDs accompanying library materials

• Health Sciences Libraries 

The Blaisdell Medical Library officially opened on Dec 11, 2006 combining the resources formerly housed in the Medical Center Library’s Redwood Building facility with exciting new services (http://lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/hsl/about/maps/index.php?map=mcl).

The General Library paid for all new technology installed in the Blaisdell Medical Library and some of the facility design improvements given that they were not included in the new building project budget but were considered essential by library management.  Funds used came from one time budgetary savings whose availability is so critical in such circumstances.

• Self-service technology workstations--high end workstations which have software to accommodate UC Davis health sciences faculty, staff, resident, and student needs to facilitate web page design, GIS, simple statistical analysis, and to create presentations for grand rounds (patient care focused), research, and instructional sessions
• Collaboration rooms/consultation rooms created. Video conferencing, and collaborative group work, including distance learning methods used by the librarians to train health care professionals and students how to use medical databases and other information resources effectively and efficiently
• Hardware and software to accommodate virtual office hours between the Sacramento and Davis campuses and northern CA rural clinics and hospitals
• Installation of electronic bulletin boards for announcements, library use tips, donor recognition, virtual posters of research interest, etc.
• Increased natural lighting, more efficiently arranged space, wireless access including Vocera (communications system used by Health System employees), and enhanced technology offerings
• Daily professional public services staff rotations between BML and HSL to accommodate the increased demand for instructional sessions and house calls (one-on-one consultations) and because all four years of the medical school curriculum and instruction is now conducted on Sacramento campus
• Integration of health sciences technical services resources and staff into Peter J. Shields Library technical services operations to maximize the efficiency of the materials ordering, processing and access

Short Statement of Plans for 2007-2008:

Efforts to support and advance the campus Strategic Plan will continue to focus on methods the General Library can employ to meet the expectations articulated in its 2006-2007 Mission Statement and Unit Priorities (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/about/mission/): 

• Continue to hone reference service, collection development practices and instructional services

• Continue to explore, develop and implement new technologies and services that promote effective use of collections acquired for campus scholars (e.g., implementation of campus collaboration and communications tools, such as SmartSite and Breeze; planning for and implementation of self-service technology units that will enable scholars’ independent use of cutting edge technologies and the content they support such as the General Library’s burgeoning GIS resources

• Continue efforts to work  with the California Digital Library (CDL) in efforts, such as testing the interface between ExLibris’ ALEPH (the Library’s OPAC) and OCLC for the deployment of OCLC WorldCat Local. This interface will allow a library patron to seamlessly search the local General Library catalog and a host of other OPACs including OCLC’s WorldCat from a single entry point.

• Continue to make effective use of the General Library’s budget in such a way that campus programs of excellence and emerging distinction are sustained.  For example, the Library must find a way in 2007-2008 to fund the UC Davis share of Elsevier ScienceDirect package (share estimated to be $1.3 million) and the ever changing inflation rates for book and journal collections (estimated to be near $750,000 for calendar year 2008)

• Continue to grow the skills of librarians and staff in support of campus scholars needing assistance accessing and applying library collections through formalized training efforts

• Continue to recruit and hire the best and the brightest librarians and support staff as current staff retire or relocate

• In the Humanities/Social Sciences:

• License non-print packages to support instructional efforts, such as the music listening collections and ARTstor.  Continuation subject to efficacy of use and library ability to continue funding commitment

• In the Sciences:

• Provide service and collection support for the Clinical Translational Sciences Center, Informatics, and Genomics programs

• Focus on developing services and collections which meet the eScience environment (experimenting and using web tools such as eScience wiki, SmartSite, Elluminate, etc.)

• Continue to improve the technical services aspect of General Library programs of service:

• Consider how reorganizing the structure of technical services might improve service and budgetary efficiencies

• Continue to provide library facilities that are welcoming and responsive to scholars’ needs:

• Create a library research commons, collaboration rooms, and state-of-the-art learning space at the Carlson Health Sciences Library
  
  
• Initial planning to create the next generation learning spaces and library research commons in the Physical Sciences & Engineering Library and Shields Library.

CAMPUS OPERATIONS

Report is current in draft. Final will be posted by January 1, 2008.

CAPITAL PROJECTS

Point Person:  John Meyer

Narrative Summary of Fourth Year Implementation Efforts:

Both the Davis and Sacramento campuses continue to manage the most extensive capital expansion program in the history of UC Davis.  Investments of over $1 billion are being made in Davis and at the Medical Center.  Many of these new facilities are now operational and have brought long-needed facilities to accommodate unprecedented enrollment and research growth.  As noted below, many facilities are in the midst of construction and will soon be completed, while other facilities are finishing a design phase and will begin construction during this year. 

Advances and Ongoing Programs Consistent with Strategy:

• Opened the following facilities: Art Annex Conversion to Technocultural Studies, Bodega Marine Laboratory Graduate Student Housing, Briggs Hall Safety Renovations, Child Care Center, Contained Research Facility, Health Sciences District Landscape, Circulation and Parking Improvements, California National Primate Research Center – Field Corral Expansion, Hoagland Hall, Multi-Use Stadium, Hopkins Road Service Center, Tahoe Center for Environmental Science, Veterinary Medicine 3A, Veterinary Medicine Instructional Facility, and Warren and Leta Giedt Hall.

• At the Sacramento campus completed the following projects: Building 41 Seismic Improvements, Central Plant Expansion Phase 2, Cypress Fire Alarm Upgrade,  Education Building, Information Services -  HVAC and Electrical Upgrades, Kiwanis Family House, Spine Center and Facial Plastic Surgery, and Vascular Clinic Remodel.

• Continued work with a newly appointed a renovations committee with participation from schools and colleges to assist in the review of the facility renovation process

• Developed a new Planning Committee structure that includes Vice Chancellor’s and Deans for project overview.

• Web site developed to provide information and status on all major construction projects. http://www.ae.ucdavis.edu/Projweb/projects.nsf/MasterProject?OpenView 

Short Statement of Plans for 2007-08:

• Open the following facilities: Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, California National Primate Research Center – Childhood Health and Disease Facility, California National Primate Research Center – Modular Animal Housing, Chilled Water Improvements Phase 6A, Electrical Improvements Phase 3, FACE Equestrian Center, Hog Barn Renovations/Conversion, Robert Mondavi Institute, and South Entry District Utilities.

• Construction of the following facilities, Graduate School of Management and Conference Center, Hotel, Health and Wellness Center, Hunt Hall Renovation, King Hall Expansion, Kerr Hall renovations, Earth and Physical Sciences, Robbins Hall Plant Genomics renovation, Tahoe Fish Hatchery, Tahoe Wetlands Restoration, Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion, Electrical Improvements, Seismic Corrections, and Steam Expansion.

• Sacramento Campus: Gross Anatomy Teaching Center, Placer Center for Health, Same Day Surgery Center, Student Fitness Center, Surgery and Emergency Services Pavilion, and Tower II Phase 4.

• Prepare third edition of 10-year capital plan.

• Complete design and begin construction for West Village neighborhood.

• Continue planning for Coffee House expansion, Music Instruction and Recital Faclity, Neuroscience – South Davis, Oxford Circle Dining Commons Expansion, Viticulture and Enology Research and Teaching Winery, Food Scicne Brewery and Food Processing Pilot Plant, Translational Human Embryonic Stem Cell Shared Research Facility, Vet Med 3B, Health and Wellness Center, Student Resource Center, Tercero South Housing Expansion (Phase 2), CNPRC Childhood Health and Disease, CNPRC Virology and Immunology, Electrical Improvements (Phase 4), Engineering 4, Robbins Hall Alterations, Chilled Water (Phase 7), and Tupper Hall 2nd Floor Remodel.

• Begin planning on a series of extensive renovation projects including Chemistry and Chem Annex, Cowell Health Center building, and Haring, Wickson, Cruess, and Briggs Halls.

• Sacramento Campus: Continuing planning for Children’s Hospital Expansion, Research Building II Remodel, Cancer Center Expansion, Stockton Boulevard Research Center, Telemedicine Resource and Rural Prime Facility.