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W&L Technologies Team Wins National Award
The Washington and Lee University Classroom Technologies team of Andy Briggs, Annie Foster, Todd Goetz and Patrick Sheridan received a project award at the Higher Ed AV Awards ceremony held June 10 in Las Vegas.
The W&L team claimed the top award in the Best Interdepartmental Collaboration category after developing a best-in-class model for interdepartmental collaboration that is both replicable and scalable.
Their submission, titled “Putting the Pieces Together,” took home top honors from a national group of finalists including teams from Baylor University, the College of William & Mary and the University of California, Los Angeles, among others. A panel of five independent judges scored the entries and chose the winner based on the greatest number of points in multiple categories.
The team’s award submission details the process for strengthening collaborative ties with additional units within Information Technology Services (ITS), in addition to University Facilities and Public Safety. It focuses on how these various departments created a campus workflow that runs more smoothly and efficiently than traditional models.
“This recognition would not have been possible without our many interdepartmental relationships and the collaborative efforts of so many wonderful campus partners,” said Briggs. “We appreciate our campus administration, the many academic departments, facilities management, public safety and our own ITS department.”
While most typical campus collaborations feature a hierarchical model dependent on “decision-making trees,” the Classroom Technologies team’s approach focuses on how each component interaction fits using readily recognizable features.
“The core features of the model are simple, clear and consistent regardless of which department or department personnel are engaged,” said Briggs. “This internal consistency allows our team to set a tone of responsiveness, an expectation of quality and a willingness, on the part of all involved, to lean into the work.”
In addition to taking home the top honor for Best Departmental Collaboration, both Foster and Sheridan were selected as Higher Ed AV Award finalists in the people award categories. Foster was one of three national finalists for the AV Manager of the Year, while Sheridan was one of three finalists for the Rising Star of the Year.
“We are all so grateful to work in an environment like we have here at W&L,” said Foster. “We are supported by fantastic resources and are blessed with a dedicated and enthusiastic campus community.”
