Staff Spotlight: Meet Rafael Alvarado, Teaching and Technology Services

Name: Rafael Alvarado Title: Executive Director of the newly formed Teaching and Technology Services Department: Division of Information Technology Time at USC: Since July 2005 Rafael Alvarado What’s your educational background? I have a BA in philosophy (analytical) and an MA and Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, each from the University of Virginia. My training in humanities computing and instructional technology—all informal—began as a graduate student, when my interest was sparked by some of the exciting things going on at UVA at the time. In addition, I have had special training in Tzotil Maya and XML. My dissertation was on the symbolic structure of Classic Maya kingship, as represented in the iconographic and epigraphic record. What do you consider your expertise to be? I would say one of my particular competences is in connecting the worlds and discourses of technology and scholarship. I fill a structural hole that still exists between these domains, being able to regard technology as a cultural phenomenon and academic work in terms of information processing. What are some of the goals you have for your area? I have two major goals at this point. This first is to create a Teaching and Technology Services (TTS) unit that will bring technology to faculty in a manner that meets their practical needs and inspires their critical faculties as well. The second is to develop the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), which I envision as having a special relationship to TTS, while remaining independent of it. In addition to its core mission, the CTE will provide a pedagogical framework within which to guide the use of technology. Through consultations, workshops, and colloquia on both practical and critical topics, I want the CTE to serve as a catalyst for growing communities of learners on topics of interest to faculty. Other goals include the establishment of a humanities computing presence on campus and the creation of an institutional repository for media files and learning objects—a pervasive, shared digital library to store and organize the digital materials out of which faculty build course materials and with which they conduct research. What is it about Information Technology that inspires you? One of my main interests in technology is the prospect of being involved in the great transformation we are currently undergoing socially and cognitively as a result of networked and increasingly pervasive computing. In academia, we have a dual role in this regard. On the one hand, we are engaged in the practical task of applying these technologies to the traditional academic practices of creating and imparting knowledge to succeeding generations. On the other hand, I am intrigued by the critical obligation we have to influence and temper the way technology gets introduced into our society and how it shapes the development of our political, economic, and religious institutions. What are you looking forward to the most at USC? I look forward to meeting the faculty, students, and staff of USC and to collaborating with the various groups on campus who support teaching and instructional technology. I also look forward to teaching in the anthropology department and working with the students at USC. What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? I love being with my family and to travel with them. My wife, Rennie Mapp, is teaching in the English department, and we have two children, Eva Lucy, 9, and Healy, 5. I also love to read science writing (e.g., Simon Winchester), fiction, and programming manuals. 11/05