Ryan Brazell Joining UMW’s DTLT in July

Ryan BrazellIt is my distinct pleasure and honor to announce that UMW has officially hired Ryan Brazell as UMW’s newest Instructional Technology Specialist for the Humanities. He will be starting at the University in July, and we are unbelievably excited about the prospect of brining in such a uniquely qualified candidate to further bolster the awesome that is DTLT. Ryan has had extensive experience in instructional technology over the last eight years at both Oberlin College and the University of California, San Francisco. What’s more, he’s experimented wildly with applications like WordPress—a platform we love at DTLT—for creating portfolios (something that’ll be key for the Domain of One’s Own project we’re unleashing camus-wide in Fall). I am glad Ryan seems excited about the prospect because he’s going to have some of the best faculty in the country to partner with to frame a whole new vision for what ed tech means to the liberal arts.

And while I could go on for years about why Ryan is perfect for this position, let me focus on one thing in particular that really excites me about the prospect of working alongside Ryan: the humanity he brings to this postion. A vision of people as the essence of what it is we “augment” through our experimentation with technology. This is the vision we hope to cultivate at DTLT as a group specifically, and what UMW wants to cultivate more broadly. It’s at the heart of a small, residential liberal arts experience. The following quote is by Ryan on the Oberlin ethos (he’s a proud Yeoman!), which is currently adorning that College’s brilliant new homepage, makes the point far better than I ever could:

It’s about refusing to put ANYONE into a box, regardless of what they may appear to be on the surface. It’s about treating others with dignity, and kindness, and respect, regardless of whether you agree with or even understand another’s point of view.

Yeah, I can dig that, though no one can ever accuse me of it 😉 I guess I have to finally pay that damn finders fee to Barbara Sawhill for bringing Ryan to Faculty Academy back in 2008 after all! DTLT is approaching warp speed right now, people, hold on tight, things just got that much better when Ryan agreed to come to come work for DTLT and unleash his genius on UMW!

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6 Responses to Ryan Brazell Joining UMW’s DTLT in July

  1. Ryan Brazell says:

    Just to bring things full circle, the picture accompanying my story about the Oberlin ethos was taken by George Brett at the closing banquet of Faculty Academy ’08, during which I decided I was going to work for UMW someday 🙂

    And yes, I am incredibly excited, and looking very much forward to joining the DTLT and the UMW community more generally this summer!

    • Reverend says:

      I was thinking that photo looked familiar. What’s more while writing this post I found this gem :):

      I’m glad you set your sites on UMW almost 5 years ago now, and I like a person that follows through 🙂 I can’t begin to express how excited I am that you will be joining us so soon. There truly couldn’t be a better time to be joining DTLT, things are getting cooler and cooler at UMW everyday. Let us know what you need to ease the transition, we are looking forward to it!

  2. Tim Owens says:

    SO FREAKIN STOKED! July can’t come soon enough. And what a great time to be joining with the Domain of One’s Own about to go big and the Convergence Center finishing up next year. I know every one of the faculty you got to talk to while you were here share our excitement as well!

  3. Ryan Brazell says:

    Heh, @Tim, you’re just excited not to be the n00b anymore 🙂 But seriously, I can’t believe my luck / good fortune to be coming to such an awesome place at such an awesome time. T-minus 4 months, 3 days …

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