Letter from Dr. Jeffrey S. Vitter, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academics

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to encourage you to attend “The Changing Landscape of Scholarly Communication in the Digital Age,” on February 11-13, 2009, at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. This unique symposium will focus on the challenges and opportunities afforded by new and emerging technologies of dissemination and discoverability of knowledge. As a land grant institution, our fundamental mission in scholarly communication is to widely disseminate the results of our research, teaching, and engagement. There is no doubt that this symposium will increase the impact of our work throughout the world.

We are very fortunate to have attracted some of the best minds in the nation as speakers for this symposium. They will both guide and challenge us to think of scholarly communication in new ways and with renewed vigor. The topics and issues to be discussed are as important to the upper faculty ranks as they are pertinent to the lower faculty ranks. The symposium is also a wonderful opportunity for students and staff to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the value and importance of scholarly communication in our society and academia.

Please see the symposium website for sponsors, program details, speaker bios, and registration information at futureofpublishing.tamu.edu. For scholarly communication resources and recent news see scholarly-communication.tamu.edu.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the symposium—it is a wonderful opportunity for us to discuss one of the most important issues in academia.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey S. Vitter
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academics