Prof Carl Berger receives information technologies leadership award

Prof. Carl Berger receives information technologies award

EDITORS: Carl Berger can be contacted at (734) 763-4668, cberger@umich.edu. Questions about EDUCAUSE should be directed to Karen McBride, manager of Member Programs, (303) 939-0313, kmcbride@educause.

ANN ARBOR—Carl F. Berger, director of Advanced Academic Technologies, Collaboratory for Advanced Research and Academic Technologies (CARAT) at the University of Michigan, has been awarded the 2001 EDUCAUSE Award for Leadership in Information Technologies. One of the most prestigious awards EDUCAUSE gives, it honors visionary achievements and effectiveness in identifying and advancing technology directions for the various needs of higher education.

Berger joined the U-M faculty in 1972 as associate professor of science education. As a faculty member specializing in science and IT education in the School of Education, he is known for his innovative work to understand how people learn using technology, his lively and visionary use of technology to make complex subjects accessible to students, and his insistence on developing effective assessment tools to evaluate faculty and student use of technology.

As an administrator, in his role as dean of the School of Education and later as director of several academic technologies departments, he built organizations that were far ahead of their time in supporting faculty in their use of technology in the curriculum. As a technologist, Berger has brought thoughtful, rational, and often unconventional insights to his service on corporate advisory councils and professional bodies.

In addition, Berger has been a contributor to the EDUCAUSE National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII) since its beginning in the mid-1990s. He was instrumental in the founding of the Instructional Management Systems (IMS) cooperative, when he took a project he headed at the U-M and partnered with others through the NLII Call for Partners process to create a body that could channel bottom-up, independent innovation and experimentation into coherent, widely useful tools for technology-supported learning. The IMS has since grown into an independent, not-for-profit organization—the IMS Global Learning Consortium.

As part of this award, EDUCAUSE will make a $2,000 contribution in Berger’s name to the CARAT Fellowship of the U-M Rackham School of Graduate Studies. This scholarship fund supports graduate students who are working with a professor on advanced academic projects.

Recognition activities will take place in Indianapolis on Oct. 30, at the EDUCAUSE annual conference, a forum for more than 5,000 professionals involved in the management of information resources in higher education and their corporate partners.

Award winners are selected by the EDUCAUSE Recognition Committee, consisting of higher education technology professionals chosen for their breadth of experience and understanding in their fields. Descriptions of the awards and winners, including URLs for further information, are on the EDUCAUSE Web site at www.educause.edu/awards/ .

With membership of more than 1,800 colleges, universities, and education organizations, including more than 180 corporations, EDUCAUSE is one of the preeminent associations addressing the complex issues that attend the incorporation of information technologies and resources into the higher education mission and functions.

The Award for Leadership in Information Technologies is sponsored by SCT, an EDUCAUSE Platinum Partner.

cberger@umich.eduCarl F. BergerSchool of EducationNational Learning Infrastructure InitiativeRackham School of Graduate Studieswww.educause.edu/awards/SCT