Middlebury College partners with leading universities to establish online University Channel
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ― Middlebury College and three universities, all leaders in the field of international studies, joined together in 2006 to formally launch the University Channel.
The online resource provides free up-to-date and on-demand access to a wide range of public policy lectures, panel discussions and events from academic institutions all over the world.
The four charter members are:
- The Rohatyn Center for International Affairs at Middlebury College
- The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University
- The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University
- The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin
The University Channel was created so that the public can hear the full-length presentations of academics, researchers and policymakers who are dedicated to solving the problems of the world. Universities routinely host such events but, until now, lacked a way to share the presentations with a wider public. The charter members form the steering committee of a larger consortium of universities that will pool video and audio recordings of public affairs events in a central online portal.
“We are proud to be a founding partner in a venture that invites anyone with an internet connection to engage in the free exchange of ideas,” said Allison Stanger, director of the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs and a professor of political science at Middlebury College. “In myriad ways, the University Channel can play a critical role in advancing our common quest for solutions to global problems.”
Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of The Woodrow Wilson School, agreed that the University Channel addresses the need for a public platform for the discussion of the critical issues. “Universities have access to such an extraordinary wealth of resources to help us think intelligently about the most pressing issues of the day — both from within our faculties and from top practitioners around the country and the world who come in and share their analyses and experiences,” said Slaughter. “We want to make these resources available to a much wider public, to provide viewers with the kind of analysis and dialogue that rarely gets aired on commercial media.”
The prototype for the University Channel, which became available in July 2005 and slowly developed its core membership, was included in the “Top Ten Podcasts of 2005,” compiled by Slate magazine, and was also named one of the “100 Best Practices of 2005” by Campus Technology, a monthly publication focusing exclusively on the use of technology across all areas of higher education.
The University Channel is now known as UChannel, a moniker which makes it easier for the public to search, tag and share our content. It also added a "tag cloud" to the top of its website, which makes it possible to instantly categorize lectures by keyword, contributing school, or format (mp3 audio, mp4 video, etc). The redesign received good reviews from Education World, which awarded UChannel an "A+" in their monthly reviews of website recommendations for educators (http://www.education-world.com/awards/2007/r1107-30.shtml). By Education World’s criteria, an A+ means “This site can’t be beat! Perfect in its category”. Sites are reviewed based on content, aesthetics and organization.
In recent months, UChannel expanded its presence significantly in the world of online networking. UChannel was one of the first YouTube sites devoted to full-length academic lectures on public affairs (see http://www.youtube.com/uchannel and waived its usual 10-minute limit for video length. iUChannel also has a Facebook application (http://apps.facebook.com/uchannel) and a screen in Second Life.
According to the University Channel’s executive director, Donna Liu, the project proves there is a great demand for this kind of public affairs content. By her calculations, at the close of 2007, UChannel distribution had grown to a monthly average of 1.5 million hits and 100,000 downloads.
The University Channel is based at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. For more information, contact executive director Donna Liu at (609) 258-8425 or dmliu@princeton.edu.