KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

John Maeda

April 3, 1:30 p.m., Second General Session

Technologies Supporting Creative Leadership Speaker
Speaker: John Maeda

Creative leaders thrive in tough times. Early in his career John Maeda was credited with redefining use of the electronic media as a tool for expression and helping develop the interactive motion graphics found throughout the internet today. In June 2008, Maeda became President of the Rhode Island School of Design. In this role, he is leveraging digital technologies in the service of transparent leadership. He has a blog, uses the social messaging site Twitter to share thoughts, and has installed several large digital bulletin boards on campus to inform the RISD community about events and enable students, faculty and staff to post their own musings. John Maeda is a world-renowned graphic designer, visual artist, and computer scientist, and is a founding voice for “simplicity” in the digital age. Named by ESQUIRE magazine as one of the 21 most important people for the 21st century, RISD President Maeda first made his mark by redefining the use of electronic media as a tool for expression for people of all ages and skills. Previously, he was a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for 12 years where he was Associate Director of Research at the MIT Media Lab.

 

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Diana G. Oblinger

April 3, 1:30 p.m., Closing General Session

Uncommon Thinking for the Common Good Speaker
Speaker: Diana G. Oblinger

Information technology and collaboration may be the keys to addressing a spectrum of resulting challenges facing higher education and society “uncommon thinking for the common good.” This session links fundamental values such as openness and sharing, with the socio-technical system enabled by the Internet and looks at its application to some of society’s greatest challenges. Diana G. Oblinger is President and CEO of EDUCAUSE and an Adjunct Professor of Adult and Higher Education at North Carolina State University. Before assuming her current position, she served as EDUCAUSE Vice President responsible for the association’s teaching and learning activities and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. Earlier Oblinger held positions in academia and business as Vice President for Information Resources and the Chief Information Officer for the University of North Carolina system, Executive Director of Higher Education for Microsoft, and IBM Director of the Institute for Academic Technology.