Subject: Re: Update on Distance Education Pre Proposal Resent-Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 16:55:01 -0500 Resent-From: Geoffrey Fox Resent-To: p_gcf@npac.syr.edu Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 10:38:20 -0600 (CST) From: Joe Thompson To: gcf@npac.syr.edu CC: joe@erc.msstate.edu My comments for the JSU ITR. Are you going to send this one in? Or do you want me to do that? Or Willie? Since it does not require signatures, you could send it in from FSU even though you aren't there just yet. Or I can do it if you like. Do it however you wish. *** There isn't time to get SURA involved in this pre-proposal. So let's just keep this pre-proposal to FSU, JSU, MSU, and the other HBCUs. Then we can develop the SURA idea at the workshop in February that I'd like for you to join me in leading. There're a several reasons for keeping the SURA thing separate from this ITR pre-proposal: 1. It could be that some other SURA universities are submitting pre-proposals with an educational theme, and we don't know about them. 2. If projects with an educational theme don't fit how NSF sees ITR, we can avoid having a less-than-enthusiastic review of this pre-proposal dampen the SURA workshop. 3. The group of SURA universities (some 42) and the group of HBCUs are two different sets. Best approach in ITR is probably to target the HBCU group. So my thinking is to try for this ITR project now, and then also try for the SURA project in some other program. If NSF does embrace education in ITR, we could always combine these efforts before submitting the full ITR proposal in April. *** Play up the fact that you and JSU are already well into related action. And play up JSU's position among HBCUs. And good leverage of DoD effort: NSF building innovation on foundation provided by DoD. *** Emphasize the effect on the workforce: more/better African-American CS grads, thus doubly beneficial.