I am wrestling with a PHYS-L administrative decision that will be of
interest to some of you, and I'd appreciate hearing comment by both
private email and public postings regarding this decision. In a nutshell:
the PHYS-L list is almost certainly going to have to move from Northern
Arizona University (NAU) in the coming year, and we have a number of
ways to go about the move. My intent is to make the move essentially
transparent to list subscribers, so if you're not interested in the details
you need not be concerned -- PHYS-L will continue to provide all
services and features it currently does from a new internet location, and
unless you choose to concern yourself the move will be of negligable impact
to you. I know how to make the move pretty much seamless (it will take some
work, but from me and the support institution, not from you the subscriber).
My family and I are leaving Flagstaff and NAU this fall; my wife and I
will take up new tenure-track jobs in elementary teacher education and
physics at SUNY-Buffalo State College (BSC). I currently intend to
continue to administer PHYS-L from NY, as I have administered PHYS-L
for the last 6 years here at NAU.
However, BSC does not have an extensive LISTERV system, and
financial troubles at NAU make leaving the list here in Flagstaff in my
absence problematic -- although I am not worried in the slightest about
my ability to remotely administer PHYS-L on the LISTSERV software
platform, I am worried about the long-term priority of PHYS-L support
after my departure from NAU. There should be no problem in the coming six
months with NAU, but I worry thereafter. NAU is downsizing support staff
and trying to cut and limit nonessential services, with a bleak outlook
for the near future.
I see a number of alternatives, presented roughly in order of ease of
administration from my point of view:
1. Move PHYS-L to a major research university with both a long-term,
significant Physics Education Research (PER) and physics teacher preparation
commitment together with an extensive LISTSERV infrastructure and
administer the list at their LISTSERV site from BSC via the web. I'd be
happy to approach a number of these institutions and request their help
hosting PHYS-L, then work with them via email and the odd long-
distance call. I have a number of locations in mind, but I'd welcome
private emails from individuals who feel their institution would be
interested in such an arrangement. This could provide semi-permanent
stability, and I have no worries about my ability to administer PHYS-L
from a distance given the LISTSERV platform and adequate institutional
commitment.
2. Move PHYS-L to an institution nearby to or in Buffalo for
reasons of physical proximity. Given that I really want PHYS-L to
remain on the LISTSERV software platform, there are a few appropriate
institutions, but I'm really not very concerned about physical proximity.
A local phone call to the technical support people would be nice, but is
not essential. I'd be comfortable with approaching the appropriate NY
institutions, but would prefer a location with a strong commitment to
Physics Education and physics teacher preparation so as to reduce the
likelihood of additional moves of PHYS-L. Note I do not have tenure at
BSC and could be moving again as soon as 3-4 years. I could also be hit
by a bus tomorrow :^( -- a bigger institution helps a lot with continuity.
3. Move PHYS-L to the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT)
headquarters on their Lyris software package. I'm least comfortable with
this, due to concerns regarding Lyris. Lyris has fewer features and a
nastier interface than LISTSERV, and I have worked with Lyris for just
under a year (LISTSERV for 6 years). Lyris appears appropriate for smaller
lists with limited archives; I feel PHYS-L requires an extensive archive
support such as that provided by LISTSERV. Warren Hein at AAPT has expressed
both a willingness and interest in hosting PHYS-L at AAPT and I strongly
agree that the Association is an appropriate eventual host for
PHYS-L, but I don't think the AAPT Lyris software is yet ready. Note
that LISTSERV costs a lot of money to license, and AAPT doesn't run
LISTSERV b/c of the issue of cost (large universities can amortize this
over many many lists with many students). I would certainly be
delighted to work with Warren, but not with Lyris.
Before making any decisions about how to proceed, I want to make sure
everyone is given an opportunity to comment. There is no hurry in this
decision (it is effectively six months away), and I wouldn't want to miss
any opportunities that others may know of. I have not yet approached any
other institutions for support in the move, though I'll start asking about
informally early next month at the Aug AAPT meeting in Boise, ID.
So what do you think? Have I missed anything? Should we go ahead
with #1? I do reserve the right to make a final decision, but not
without input from subscribers.
I will post at least bi-monthly updates on this issue, and will strive to keep
the decision as public and open as possible. Public list postings and private
email comments are welcome and appreciated.
Dan M
Dan MacIsaac, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Northern AZ Univ
danmac@att.net http://purcell.phy.nau.edu PHYS-L list owner