Faculty members are going to get better service in developing instructional technology, reports John Bruno, vice provost for information and educational technology. A new Instructional Technology and Digital Media Center is being created to provide faculty members entry to a broad range of technology and media services as well as integrated support in instructional technologies. It will be formed primarily through a realignment of existing services within the Division of Information Technology, including the new-media centers, design and graphic services, Web design and development, photographic services, media production and scientific photography. Bruno is soliciting applications for a faculty director to lead the center. The director, who will report directly to Bruno, will act as liaison between the faculty and the center regarding instructional technology and digital media services. Responsibilities of the position will also include the development of a campus infrastructure for the support of various forms of instructional technologies. A formal relationship between the new center and the Teaching Resources Center will be established to facilitate a collaborative relationship. The faculty director is expected to start July 1. Bruno reports a number of factors have led to the focus on support for faculty in the area of instructional technology. "Firstly, the increasing pressure on faculty to use digital media and to put their courses on the Web is forcing them to become Web content providers and experts in the use of ever-evolving Web publishing tools," Bruno said. "Often they need to be nearly continuously available to their students via e-mail, news groups and chat rooms." At the 1997 All-University Conference on Teaching and Learning Technologies and the Present and Future of the University of California, participants voiced concerns that, "For faculty, the most ubiquitous and obvious cost of technological enhancement to teaching and learning is the cost of their own time," according to Bruno. He also pointed to an increasing lag between enrollment growth and the availability of physical facilities, particularly classrooms. The UC system is expected to accommodate more than 63,000 new students over the next 10 years. UC Davis' share of these students will inevitably increase the teaching workload. "Additionally, we can anticipate rising student expectations regarding the use of the Web for course materials and on-line instruction. Instructional technology has a key role to play in leveraging our physical facilities to deal with larger numbers of students and to improve the quality of their educational experience," Bruno said. Instructional technology and digital media support will play a critical role as UC faculty members engage in Web-based instruction and outreach initiatives in distance education and lifelong learning, according to Bruno. "We must develop ways in which technology will enrich, rather than burden, the teaching and learning experience. There is much to be done, and I am looking forward to the challenge of building a first-rate Instructional Technology and Digital Media Center to serve the academic community at UC Davis," he said.