WebTeam -- University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Minutes (Feb. 23, 2005) Web Advisory Committee

Present: Dr. Joseph Lucke, Dr. Keith Krolick, Dr. Alison Beck, Tom Raymond, Gilbert Sosa, Dr. Robert Badgett, Doug Hartzler, Heather Cura, and Jim Barrett.

Dr. Joseph Lucke, substituting as chair for Dr. Raymond Palmer, called the meeting to order. Committee members approved the Jan. 26 minutes.

Jim Barrett gave the webmaster's report. He said:

Server traffic in January rose 46 percent, to 1,399,407 page views, over the same month in 2004.
Programming changes have been made to the web-based calendar and mapping systems so events will also show a map to the place of the event. He said the calendar's content now would be used on the digital information board that will be installed in the new Academic Administration Building.
The library soon would be publishing consumer-oriented health information pertaining to the South Texas region, and he thought it would be worth considering as a front-page link. Tom Raymond provided details. Committee members said they liked the idea, and asked to see more content at the next meeting.
The University Relations Office has requested changing the name of the link "Philanthropy" on the university homepage to say "Donate." He said the word would be linked to a page where the public could donate to the university online using a credit card. A discussion began:

Dr. Keith Krolick said he found the idea offensive, and inconsistent with the image of an academic institution. He opposed the change. Dr. Lucke and Dr. Alison Beck also opposed the change on the grounds that it was inconsistent with the mission of the institution and conveyed an inappropriate image. Doug Hartzler suggested defining the reasons the committee opposed the change, and he summarized the arguments he had heard. The committee recommended a smaller link, perhaps called "Donate," under the existing header "Philanthropy." The committee directed the webmaster to contact the University Relations Office regarding the committee's concerns.

In new business, Dr. Lucke asked Dr. Robert Badgett to make his scheduled presentation about the web application he has written to store and display links to faculty members' academic publications and citations in the news media. Dr. Badgett showed how the application works with any web browser, and is used like a bookmark to store a URL containing a pertinent article. He said he had also used the application to export biographical information and article references from the eCV repository of faculty profiles. Dr. Badgett said the results had been poor because the references varied in format and often had mistakes because of data-entry errors. He and Mr. Barrett also showed the application's function in bookmarking and displaying links in the general news media. Mr. Barrett, for example, showed two recent articles he had bookmarked. They were displayed on a demonstration page labeled "Faculty in the News."

Mr. Barrett said he planned to produce a similar list using the application, and post the results in the university web portal, inside.uthscsa.edu. He also said he would see whether the School of Medicine also might include such a list when it redesigns its web pages.

There was no other business, and the meeting was adjourned.

-- Minutes prepared by Jim Barrett
-- Approved April 27, 2005