by Julie Hubbard, The Tennessean
MTSU President Sidney McPhee falls in line with a recent Pew Research Center study that says leaders of the nation’s colleges are a tech-savvy group. McPhee has an iPhone, iPad, several iPods, several computers and a Nikon camera. MTSU President Sidney McPhee used Skype on his iPhone for a more personal conversation with the Hangzhou Normal University president, working out the details of shipping 500 plants from China to Murfreesboro for research. But McPhee’s technophile side doesn’t end with smartphones. He’s also an avid iPad user who hired Middle Tennessee State University students to design apps to check their grades, review lunch menus and see a campus map. A new lab at his school will include tablet-phone combinations at desks — new technology the manufacturer is testing before putting it on the market. “I was an early adopter of the iPod,” McPhee said. “When it comes out, I don’t mind being the guinea pig.” He reflects new Pew Research Center polling on university presidents’ technology use, which shows those in charge of educating America’s college students are more likely to embrace new technology. Nearly 87 percent use a smartphone daily, 56 percent use a laptop several times a day, and half use a tablet computer, compared with 8 percent of the general public with tablets.
Share on Facebook