Alumni Join Faculty to Examine Technology and Education

Co-chair Andy Ludwick sets broad agenda

Next week, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R. Knowles will convene a new committee of 43 alumni and faculty to examine the use of technology in undergraduate teaching and College life.

"Over the next two years or so," Knowles said, "this group will examine how we are using the new technologies in education, and will advise me on how we should exploit these opportunities to enrich the lives of both students and faculty."

Andrew K. Ludwick '67, MBA '69, and Peter J. Solomon '60, MBA '63, are joined by Eric Mazur, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics, and Stuart M. Shieber, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, as co-chairs of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Technology and Education Committee.

Knowles added: "I'm most grateful to Andy, Peter, Eric, and Stuart for helping to shape the future use of information technology throughout the Faculty of Arts and Sciences."

Ludwick first became involved in improving information technology (IT) at Harvard in 1991, when he learned that the College was "not very far along at all" in establishing Internet connections. "It was clear we needed to take a major step and that the costs involved created a significant hurdle," he recalled.

So he generously contributed personal funds and arranged for his company, SynOptics Communications, to sell the necessary computer hardware to Harvard at a deep discount.

Ludwick cofounded SynOptics Communications, a data networking equipment provider, in 1985. He served as CEO until 1995, when the company merged with Wellfleet Communications to form Bay Networks. Ludwick continued as CEO of Bay Networks until 1997, when he retired from the company. (Bay was recently acquired by Northern Telecom.)

"The College has been dramatically transformed by the universal availability of connections to the campus-wide network and to the entire Internet," said Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis. "Today, every student uses electronic mail and the World Wide Web to stay in touch with goings-on at Harvard and in the outside world, and every aspect of undergraduate life, from the conduct of courses to the scheduling of athletic practices and the advertisement of student activities, is carried out electronically.

"Synoptics' gift, under Andy Ludwick's leadership, made it possible for Harvard to complete the installation of the network quickly and at no cost to individual students," Lewis added. "Everyone who studies or teaches here owes Andy a great debt."

"I imagine communication over the Internet engenders a lot more interaction among people of varied interests," suggested Ludwick. He said he thought e-mail has also moderated the sometimes intimidating hierarchy at Harvard. Students who would never approach a senior faculty member or a dean will easily zip them an e-mail, thus beginning a dialogue and a relationship that otherwise might have been missed.

Despite his enthusiasm for the benefits of Internet use, Ludwick has been wary of its social implications: "What happens when people sit in their rooms and e-mail one another for hours into the afternoon or night instead of going out and spending time together in person?" he asked. "Why see the TA when you can get to him with e-mail? Why go to the lecture when you can download the CD-ROM over the Web? Why visit the Widener stacks when you can

make an electronic call from your room in Mather? Ironically, the

electronically connected student might become physically isolated. While the power of information technology to improve teaching is great, we have to pay attention to these issues as well."

Recently released studies echo Ludwick's concerns by warning that excessive use of the Internet may lead to depression.

"Harvard can make an impact by grappling with and coming to an understanding about the social impact of electronic communication," Ludwick added.

E-mail use is just one of many agenda items for the committee, whose members will begin by educating themselves on a range of issues including technology in the library, the role of technology in the classroom, the resources available to support faculty and students in developing new uses of IT, and strategies for responding to future technological needs in the FAS.

Professor Shieber said: "Experiments using information technology in novel ways at Harvard have already shown that proper use of the technology can greatly improve pedagogy. But not all uses of the technology are beneficial, and some can actually impede education either directly or through the squandering of resources. The committee provides a wonderful opportunity to get the wise counsel and perspective of a broad range of people on how Harvard can best take advantage of the potential while avoiding the pitfalls."

Ludwick is especially interested in sharing with the committee details about the use of IT by faculty.

As examples, he noted the work of Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and professor of comparative literature, who has compiled on CD-ROM a comprehensive collection of research that he and others in his field have done over many years, and Eric Mazur, who has introduced a voting mechanism that offers students an opportunity to give instantaneous feedback during a lecture and illustrates that a simple, low-tech interactive multimedia solution can have a dramatic impact on the classroom experience.

"It would be easy to throw lots of money toward IT," said Ludwick. "Harvard must plan strategically to spend its dollars wisely." He envisions that the committee can help find the necessary resources and suggest ways to direct funds for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

Ludwick, who serves as co-chair of the Class of 1967 and a member of the Committee on University Resources and the FAS West Coast Major Gifts Committee, appreciates the opportunity Dean Knowles's committee assignment offers. "Harvard is one of a handful of preeminent institutions that have significantly broad impact -- its reach and influence are beyond measure. It's a privilege to be involved in strategizing about our goals for the future."

To support Harvard, Andy and his wife, Worth Zahour Ludwick, a Wellesley alumna, recently doubled their campaign gift to $2 million.

Dean Knowles said: "I am extraordinarily grateful to Andy and Worth for their splendid support, which will help us invest in information technology in the FAS. Moreover, I value Andy's insights into the educational work of the College, which will ensure that those investments are wisely made."