USF Poly Representatives Attend Polytechnic Summit
USF Poly representatives attend Polytechnic Summit
Representatives from the University of South Florida Polytechnic gathered with colleagues from across the country at the Polytechnic Summit, held July 15-16 in Menomonie, Wis. The second annual event took place at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, the state's polytechnic university."The Polytechnic Summit represents critical progress toward the development of a polytechnic consortium of schools that can help to communicate the core values and direct impact of polytechnic universities on the communities that they serve," said Dr. Naomi Boyer, USF Poly's director of Extended University.
"We have entered a time that is ripe for the development and growth of institutions of higher education that are responsive, applied, interdisciplinary and linked directly to economic development. The Polytech Summit provides a forum for dialogue and the creation of collective knowledge about the issues and context within which each institution serves."
In his opening remarks, UW-Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen said, "This is a group of distinguished polytechnic universities from across the country and the world. We are honored to host this event again. It was a tremendous success last year."
Following Sorensen's welcome, Steve Webster, VP of research and technology commercialization for 3M, a Minnesota-based international company, gave the keynote speech, "Technological Innovation and the Role of the Polytechnic."
"Steve Webster described the kind of employee he looks for -- and how polytechnics are ideal for producing that kind of graduate," said Dr. Dave Armitage, interim chair of the Information Technology department and assistant professor of information technology at USF Poly.
"Technical depth is important, he said, but so is an appreciation of humanities and social science, understanding of other cultures, an ability to work in diverse teams as leader or follower, and the ability to learn. Using examples of past economic downturns, he supported his contention that 'only technological innovation will revive our economy for a new era of prosperity.'"
The conference featured 21 sessions and nearly 50 presenters, including the following USF Poly faculty and staff: Dr. Dave Armitage, Dr. Naomi Boyer, Dr. Aryn Bush, Dr. Abdel Ejnioui, Dr. JoAnne Larsen, Catherine Lavellee-Welch, Dr. Smita Mathur, Dr. Richard Plank, Dr. Rebekah Pratt and David Steele. David Bobbitt and Didier Rousseliere also attended from USFP.
Polytechnic colleges that partnered with UW-Stout to coordinate the event included Arizona State University, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Southern Polytechnic State University, and the USF Polytechnic.
"Presentations from other polytechnics were both useful in providing ideas, and in illustrating that polytechnics are far from being the same as each other," said Armitage. "There are many ways to be a polytechnic; most of today's polytechnics have been shaped by what they were before they became a polytechnic. With our plans to hire such a large percentage of our eventual faculty, we are different from the others in our ability to determine what we will become."
Polytechnic schools blend theory with practice to produce innovative solutions to real-world problems, grow the economy and serve society. The goal of the summit is to help schools share information about their strengths and practices.
"As one of the newest polytechnic institutions, we found that the public often was confused about our mission and our focus," Sorensen said. "The Polytechnic Summit is intended to clear up some of those misconceptions and allow representatives from other institutions to share their ideas and innovations."
The first summit was held last year at UW-Stout. Sorensen opened that event by calling for polytechnic universities to become the national model for collaborative research. "Polytechnic universities should lead higher education change," he said.
