I am the Director of Information Technology for Weinberg College, having joined Northwestern in 2010. The past two years have allowed me to meet a number of people engaged in various uses of technology as part of academic pursuits, which only emphasized the need for me to learn more about many areas outside “traditional IT”.

Digital humanities has been one of those areas, and the ambiguity of its definition has been a challenge for someone who has not been a humanist (or academic of any sort). So far, I am inclined toward a “bigger tent” definition that includes both builders/makers and users/practitioners. I can envision people who use technology for humanities work today be looking to build new tools and platforms tomorrow and inspire succeeding generations of DHers. Interestingly, a career in IT can follow a similar progression: a desktop/laptop support person who uses specific tools and technologies becomes a systems architect or application developer who creates new tools and technologies.

More than anything, I am eager to participate as someone who comes from a non-academic background to learn not only about DH but also about the academic roots that fuel its growth.