Overview

The 19th annual CUNY IT Conference convened virtually last fall. The conference brought together faculty and administration from across the CUNY system to discuss IT.

The conference theme, “The Next or New Normal?”, explored CUNY’s response to changes that events of 2020 both forced and inspired. It was be a chance for stakeholders from across CUNY to discuss the pedagogical, social and economic effects of the pandemic, including the switch to online education and how it both presented new opportunities and exacerbated existing inequalities. How does CUNY’s history, present and anticipated future influence our perspectives on change and ability to set examples in the realm of equitable higher education? Are we working towards a return to “normal” or moving towards a new horizon?

In considering the theme of “The Next or New Normal?”, we asked the questions:

How did existing systems and technologies at CUNY help or hinder our transition to distance learning in Spring 2020, and how did they help or challenge us to prepare for Fall 2020?
How can CUNY prepare for and become more resilient to unforeseen changes in higher education over the coming years?
How can CUNY use moments of upheaval to imagine a more just and equitable university, rather than just a “return to normal” when the crisis passes?

"Our 19th Annual CUNY IT Conference will also be our groundbreaking, first-ever virtual IT conference. The appropriate subject, 'The Next or New Normal?', will explore whether CUNY (and higher education in general) is moving into a new era in terms of instruction and administration. Our current situation raises many new questions and issues that will make this upcoming conference especially interesting and important."

–Brian Cohen, Vice Chancellor and University CIO, City University of New York (CUNY)