Based in part on our ongoing work with OSHEAN here in RI, its counterpart in the Philadelphia region, MAGPI, held its first “Member Advisory Meeting” on March 22, 2010.

New Commons produced three deliverables for the meeting:
• Define the role of the MAGPI advisory
• Assessment of value provided by MAGPI
• A visual representation of mutual dependencies and potential collaboration opportunities among the MAGPI member segments

On an annual basis, EPSCoR hosts a Diversity Workshop for a variety of stakeholders to further augment their efforts to attract and retain students of color in the STEM disciplines.

Michelle Gonzalez of New Commons was engaged to facilitate the workshop in order to enhance the sustainability of this project. In previous years the Diversity Workshop engaged participants in principles of diversity, but didn't create a plan to further make the diversity initiative a systemic one.

The agenda started with a panel presentation from the following individuals to futher amplify the question of "What is diversity and how do we harness this initiative for our students?"

New Commons has helped the PC IT Department develop tools and processes to deliver better Help Desk services to the Providence College user community.

Our initial workshops quickly revealed an interdependent set of service providers and their unified need for a "self help resource." The resulting wiki we helped create brings together almost all college departments.

Currently, we are working to train student Help Desk workers to facilitate focus group conversations. An ongoing series of focus groups covers a variety of topics including TV on campus and the use and management of email communications between the college and its community.

Ultimately, these focus group seek to identify thought-leaders on campus who can contribute to a Student Advisory, providing input on how computing affects their learning and living.