The digital age is about much more than technology; it is fundamentally changing the ways in which people learn, work, play and interact with one another, according to the provost's Task Force on Wisdom in the Age of Digital Information.

Huttenlocher

The task force has recommended the creation of a new, universitywide program in digital arts and culture, with its own dedicated laboratory and exhibition spaces, new faculty hires and other support. As part of the ongoing Computing and Information Science Initiative, the new task force was charged by Provost Biddy Martin to focus on the digital age as it relates to the humanities and social sciences.

"I am excited about the possibilities for a digital arts and culture program at Cornell and look forward to working with the provost's office and the deans to start pursuing the recommendations in our report," said Daniel Huttenlocher, the John P. and Rilla Neafsey Professor of Computing, Information Science and Business, who chaired the task force. "I am also deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to work with such a fantastic group of people; I learned a lot from the task force members, who all worked hard to bring together specific recommendations in a very broad domain of inquiry."

From a survey of the faculty in spring 2005, the task force concluded that while many digital arts and culture activities already exist, they are mostly isolated and underrecognized. In many cases faculty members were unaware of related work in other parts of the campus. And a few faculty are still openly resistant to the changes in how students use new digital forms of expression, they found.

Provided

A laser scans Michelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy, part of the Digital Michelangelo Project, which also has scanned other works of art. Steve Marschner, assistant professor of computer science and a participant in the Program of Computer Graphics, manages the processing of data from the scans. The aims of the project are to advance the technology of 3D scanning, to place this technology in the service of the humanities, and to create a long-term digital archive of important cultural artifacts.

But given the many digital arts and culture activities already under way, the report says, "Cornell is poised to position itself as a leading east coast center of such research and pedagogy." The report makes seven specific recommendations:

• Create a universitywide program in digital arts and culture, with a broad-based faculty advisory committee similar to the Computing and Information Sciences Council or the Social Sciences Advisory Council.
• Develop lab, exhibition and performance space for digital scholars and practitioners, to create and showcase works that currently cannot be adequately developed or publicly exhibited.
• Engage in coordinated hiring of additional faculty in areas of digital scholarship and creative expression, with participation by humanists, artists, social scientists and digital technologists in hiring decisions.
• Make coordinated investment in additional faculty for the Information Science Program to build strong links with the digital arts and culture program while avoiding unnecessary overlap.
• Increase the level of support for faculty and student endeavors in digital scholarship and artistic creation, based in Cornell University Library with technical assistance from Cornell Information Technologies.
• Provide support for Ph.D. students to undertake a semester of intensive study to build cross-disciplinary strength in digital studies, to provide a stronger experience than simply taking a few courses.
• Provide resources to facilitate joint teaching across units, creating opportunities for scholars to learn from one another without requiring that they take on additional course loads.