These dual roles are natural for the University and complement our traditional, bedrock missions of teaching, research and service.
Technology is nothing new, of course.
History is replete with examples of technology that created startling and sometimes totally unanticipated consequences. The cotton gin, which set the stage for the American South to dominate in world cotton production, had the unintended negative consequence of dramatically increasing the slave trade. From start to finish, this last century brought an acceleration of technology that changed how we communicate, how we work, how we entertain ourselves. The horseback mail carrier gave way to the telegraph, which gave way to the telephone, which gave way to the cell phone and electronic mail, and which is giving way to wireless communication through television sets. Lincoln Logs and erector sets gave way to toys that walk and talk and video games with nearly as much power as early supercomputers.