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College IT Director Focuses on Faculty, Builds Collaboration

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3 minute read December 15, 2014

As Director of Information Technology for McMicken College of Arts and Sciences – UC’s largest college with about 500 faculty and 100 staff members – Yu-Chin Fu juggles a variety of tasks. She is modest, and insists that she merely serves as the bridge between A&S and UCIT, connecting staff members to improve UC’s IT community.
Yu-Chin Fu

Originally from Taiwan, Fu never thought that she would pursue a career in IT. She enrolled at Ohio State University to study education but switched to computer sciences and later completed her degree at the University of Dayton.

“I really like to learn new things,” Fu said. “It’s a privilege to be in a higher education environment. There are so many opportunities to learn.” 

Fu oversees all of A&S IT, except for in the Physics and Classics departments. She works with a small IT staff at A&S but regularly collaborates with UCIT staff on initiatives. Recently, they created the first A&S Blackboard course template.

The customizable template is for A&S faculty to use while teaching courses, and is set to launch in the spring. Its fruition resulted from collaboration between A&S faculty, UC Blue Ash faculty, UCIT staff and College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services instructional designers.

Staff and faculty members are also working on a summer template. As the project progresses, Fu hopes to include a virtual library.

“Improvement is continuous,” Fu said. New developments for the template will unfold based on feedback and advancing technology.  

Fu appreciates the student-centric focus for IT development at UC, but also believes that attention needs to be paid to faculty members, so they can more effectively teach their students.

“My goal is to help faculty conquer the fear of technology,” Fu said.

Along with UC’s IT staff, Fu wants to create a sustainable system to support the eLearning environment. Her plan includes a reward system for faculty members; investments in infrastructure, so A&S can establish a strong IT base; and to foster collaboration for more IT support. She wants to encourage a community sense instead of an “island mentality.”

“ELearning is an investment, an investment to faculty and students,” Fu said. “We need to have student and faculty engagement. Whatever technology is available, we have to adapt it and change it for the people.” 

Additional Contacts

Rebecca Butts | Assistant Public Information Officer

| 513-556-2675

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