The Next Impact Talks Presents: Digital Transformation: Closing the Digital Gap in Higher Education  

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted many facets of higher education, including the rapid adoption of digital technologies and the shift in expectations around a more personalized and accessible student experience. In the face of unprecedented challenges, colleges and universities are being called upon to rethink the traditional way of doing business, and to implement new practices that align with today's technology-enabled and technology-driven world.

Digital transformation is "a series of deep and coordinated culture, workforce, and technology shifts that enable new educational and operating models and transform an institution's operations, strategic directions, and value proposition" [Educause]. With increased digital capabilities comes a more engaging learning environment, greater opportunities for advancing academic research, better student experiences and outcomes, and a more agile organization poised to adapt and thrive during challenging times.

Seton Hall University's digital transformation began long before the pandemic with the launch of one of the first mobile computing programs in the U.S. in 1997. Since then, Seton Hall continues to be recognized as a leader in the use of cutting-edge technology to support research and education. The consumerization of information technology has changed the way that students want to learn, and faculty want to teach. Seton Hall's digital transformation plan allows the University to quickly adapt to these changes through continuous assessment and implementation of strategic innovations that promote ubiquitous access, best-in-class services and support, and curricular integration, while still preserving the core values of a Seton Hall University education.

The Office of the Provost at Seton Hall University invites you to a special in-person gathering for our speaker series Impact Talks on Monday, January 30, 2023, 12 - 1:30 p.m., featuring a panel of industry experts discussing the critical importance of digital transformation in higher education, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. 

Panelists:

• Ashish Parmar - Chief Information Officer, Tapestry

As Tapestry's Chief Information Officer (CIO), and a member of the Executive Committee, Ashish is responsible for the group's technology strategy, leading information security and technology operations, and overseeing the data science & analytics function. Under his leadership, Tapestry was the overall winner of IDC's Best in Future of Digital Infrastructure Awards in 2021, and Cloud-Centric Computing category winner. Furthermore, Ashish has been named as Forbes 50 Innovative Technology Leaders, Business Transformation 150 Executives by Constellation Research. 

Currently, Ashish serves on the Board of LL Flooring, Inc. (NYSE: LL), one of the leading specialty retailers of hard-surface flooring. He is a member of the Audit, and Compensation Committees. Additionally, Ashish serves as Board Trustee for Arcadia University, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Institutional Integrity (Audit) Committee.

Ashish has attained the designation of NACD Directorship Certification® through the National Association of Corporate Directors.

• Todd Taylor, Ph.D. - Senior Strategic Development Manager for Higher Education at Adobe & Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Todd Taylor, Ph.D., is an award-winning teacher and distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and currently works full time for Adobe as a "Pedagogical Evangelist." He began leading instructional technology faculty development workshops as a graduate student in 1994. Todd's research, teaching, and work continue to examine how literacy is evolving in response to emerging digital, information, and network technologies.

• Jennifer Sparrow, Ed.D. - Senior Manager for Higher Ed Business Development at AWS

Formerly the Deputy CIO and Associate Vice President for Teaching and Learning Technology (TLT) at Penn State University (PSU), Jennifer has championed the use of technology to engage students in the learning process for over 20 years. Jennifer's conversations around technology focus on increasing digital fluency for students, faculty, and life-long learners. During her time at PSU, Jennifer worked with faculty to enrich the educational experiences of students through creative and innovative uses of technology for teaching, learning, and research. Prior to her work at PSU, she was Senior Director of Networked Knowledge Ventures and Emerging Technologies at Virginia Tech. She has a passion for working with faculty who are willing to push the boundaries to explore new technologies and their potential implementations in teaching, learning, and research. Her teaching and research projects included examining the convergence of technologies and learning spaces to create interactive and engaged learning opportunities. Jennifer received her bachelor's degree from Smith College, her master's degree from Florida Gulf Coast University, and doctorate from the University of Central Florida.

• Richard Sparrow - Associate Vice President and Global University Chief Information Security Officer

In his role as Associate Vice President and Global University Chief Information Security Officer, Richard has leadership oversight of NYU's Global Office of Information Security and NYU's information security program. Before this role at NYU, he worked at Huron Consulting, helping clients in higher education and health care identify risks, adopt better security practices, and advance information security and privacy strategies. Richard also served as the interim Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Security Operations at Penn State. He led teams focused on security operations, privacy, information security compliance, and identity and access management. He helped develop a comprehensive approach to university-wide information security during his tenure.

Richard has also worked in information security roles with Case Western Reserve University and Virginia Tech. Highlights of this work includes: implementing Duo 2-Factor Authentication, developing an information security community, creating an enterprise-wide patch management service, and completing a university-wide password change project. He was an active member of the Big Ten Academic Alliance Security Working Group. He has presented on this work across the US and has been a part of the EDUCUASE Security Professionals annual meeting program committee.   
Richard has led projects that have included transforming threat detection, implementing an information-centric strategy, and ensuring operational excellence. Areas of interest include developing operational KPIs measuring programs' effectiveness in vulnerability management and threat detection, designing and developing incident response testing and training exercises, and developing teams. He is firmly committed to education as the best tool to help faculty, staff, and students protect themselves and the university from emerging cyber threats.

Richard is a Florida Gulf Coast University graduate with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Richard also maintains a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) certification and is a MOR IT Leadership Program graduate.

Click here to register for the event.

Following the panel, we invite students and faculty to attend the following workshops.

Faculty Workshop

Low-Lift, High-Impact Teaching and Learning across the Curriculum with Adobe Creative Cloud
Monday, January 30, 2:15 - 3:30 p.m.
Bethany B/C

This workshop helps instructors across disciplines transform their teaching through easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions that enable students to leverage Adobe Creative Cloud in their coursework, including research papers, presentations, reports, podcasts, portfolios, and data visualizations. The session will provide instructors with a turn-key module, tutorials, lesson plans, rubrics, and samples of the most common formats for student work using Adobe Creative Cloud. Participants will leave this session with everything they need to cultivate high-impact learning with a relatively low lift.

Workshop Leader
Todd Taylor, PhD, is an Adobe Pedagogical Evangelist and English Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research, teaching, and curricular leadership examine how literacy continues to evolve in response to digital, network, and information technologies. He is an award-winning scholar and teacher, and his most recent publications include Adobe Creative Cloud across the Curriculum, a Guide for Students and Teachers and Becoming a College Writer.

Faculty are invited to click here to register for this workshop.

Student Workshop

Professional Branding Workshop
Monday, January 30, 6-7:30 p.m.
Beck rooms

In this hands-on session, you will learn how to easily create or improve your digital "brand." Using the Adobe tools provided to you by Seton Hall University, you will learn how to create a simple, yet elegant webpage using your existing resume.  Additionally, you will create a quick introduction video that can be embedded in the page.  As you enter the job market, this "digital resume" will give you a competitive edge and let prospective employers learn more about you and your brand.

Workshop Leader
Stephen Hart started his career as a newspaper photographer while studying math and computer engineering at Boston University. He has held positions at United Press International, the Associated Press and Hearst Magazines. While at the AP he was a leader of the team that introduced digital photography, technologies, and new workflows to the then film-based industry. And he was a lead photo editor on two stories, the Soviet Coup attempt and the 1992 Presidential election, that led to Pulitzer prizes in photography for the company.

He is currently a client executive with Adobe Systems focusing on higher education in the Northeast. He works closely with Harvard, Yale, among others, in their use of creative software and research.

Students are invited to click here to register for this workshop.

Categories: Education, Science and Technology