There is a new face behind the virtual curtain. Development and External Affairs welcomed Assistant Web Editor David Boxer on board in early December 2001.

Boxer is already hard at work with the Web Editor, the External Affairs staff and TC faculty, staff and students to ensure that the TC Web can continue growing and transforming into a wellspring of information.

In fact, only a few weeks on the job and Boxer is already working closely with several departments on updating or, in some cases, creating their sites for the first time.

"I am very interested in making all of the information that is already out there readily accessible," said Boxer about delving right into work. "There is a lot of excellent information that needs to be displayed in a variety of dynamic ways."

The TC Web is a sprawling site, comprised of hundreds of smaller sites. While the Web Office is not solely responsible for maintaining each and every site, it does try to keep sites up-to-date and compelling. It also develops the framework and methods for disseminating information about the school, from the academic catalog to Inside TC articles.

As Boxer states, this very challenge is what interested him in the position. "I thought it would be exciting to architect a site that would have educational purposes, and assist in developing such a tool that allows all members of the community to discover and share information," he said.

Boxer is not new to academia or Teachers College. He has experience in teaching and administrating in both public and private educational institutions. However, most recently he held a position in the TC academic computing department.

So, it should not come as a surprise that his interest in the Web is not just technical. "I am interested in seeing how new literacies are developing, be it visually, textually, or however, and gauging how this is impacting the current generation of students. They are learning in ways that we have never seen before."

TC Web Editor, Paul Acquaro, said, "I think the school is already benefiting from his help, I'm really pleased to have someone as talented and thoughtful as David working on the Web."

"We will really be able to get to a lot of the projects and provide the support that was difficult to find time for prior to David's arrival," Paul added. "We're all very excited to have David working in External Affairs."

Published Monday, May. 20, 2002