When members of the Association for College and University Technology Advancement (ACUTA) met in April this year for the organization’s 44th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Atlanta, a very familiar face was on hand to greet them.
Vantage Technology Consulting Group Principal Geoffrey Tritsch – a widely respected technology consultant and noted authority on its many uses in higher education – was among the featured speakers when this year’s event took at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta.
ACUTA is an international non-profit association serving colleges and universities. Membership includes more than 1900 education professionals representing more than 600 institutions of higher education, ranging from smaller schools and community colleges to the 50 largest institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Tritsch has proven to be a very popular and compelling speaker at ACUTA events through the years, having led more than 50 technology-based seminars for the organization.
ACUTA’s mission is to support and advance the capabilities of higher education. Technology plays an increasingly important role in that regard, and Tritsch’s seminar sessions often examine the impact evolving technology can have in the educational environment. This year’s presentations were tailored to support the theme of the 2015 gathering, “Aspire to Lead.”
The first of those, “Developing a Stable and Predictable IT Funding Model”, addressed the challenge many educational institutions face in trying to establish a predictable, controllable IT funding model that can keep pace with rapidly rising demands for tech-based data, voice, and video services.
Years after the demise of student-service revenues, many institutions have yet to move away from outdated funding models, cross-subsidization, and unreliable, one-time capital allocations. In his session, Tritsch described the key components of an alternative approach to funding and financial planning, and offered strategies for facilitating that approach with a sometimes skeptical university community.
For his second session, Tritsch explored the debilitating and sometimes career-limiting condition known as “glossophobia”, the inability to speak in front of groups of people. Public Speaking – Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself explored this widely shared condition, and offered tips and techniques for overcoming it.
“Public speaking may be scary to some, but like most skills there are methods and strategies that can make it easier – and even enjoyable,” Tritsch said. ”Public speaking skills are essential l in the educational environment, and even the most adept professional educators have found this seminar useful in improving their ability to transmit information, motivate students and peers, tell a compelling story or present a persuasive argument to audiences of any size and description.”
As one of ACUTA’s most well-known and respected speakers and members, Geoff Tritsch is well positioned to present these seminar sessions. A strong advocate for using technology to promote learning, Geoff has worked as a technology consultant in higher education and healthcare since 1980. He is widely recognized as one of the foremost consultants in his field, specializing in technology planning, cost analysis, business continuity planning, and the convergence of voice, data and video technologies in the educational environment.
Links
ACUTA Home page:
ACUTA Annual Conference and Exhibition: