Turning Opportunity into 'Serendipity'

by Michael R. Lightner
Associate Dean for Special Projects

Among his special projects, Associate Dean Michael Lightner co-directs the Boulder Lab for Utilizing Revolutions in Reality, a cross-disciplinary program between the College of Engineering and School of Journalism. He also serves as interim director of the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities and has helped bring the latest technology into the Discovery Learning Center.

When Dean Corotis asked me to assume the position of Associate Dean for Special Projects this year, I was happy to accept. I knew that I was following in the footsteps of a very amazing, previous special projects associate dean — George Morgenthaler.

What, might you ask, is a special projects associate dean? I took my lead from Professor Morgenthaler — a special projects dean works with the faculty, engineering development, and our external partners (individual, business, and government) for the betterment of the college.

So, how is that different from the other deans, chairs, faculty, and engineering development staff?

Engineering faculty and administrators put in exceptionally long hours on a diverse set of tasks. When there is an opportunity for a new and different project or partnership, they have the time and capacity to develop the technical vision and potential, but they may not have the time to actually build the appropriate relationships, follow up on detail, and work across institutional boundaries.

Some of the latter work is done by the development office, but when the work becomes more technical and more connected with university processes, such as in the area of intellectual property, the development office may not have the appropriate organizational capacity. This is where the special projects associate dean comes into the picture. The special projects associate dean adds the connection between the faculty, development, and the university to help realize the possibilities. In essence, we become the lubricant to help make a project happen.

The work of a special projects dean is exemplified by two exciting new activities in the college.

The first is the BP Center for Visualization (see article in Interdisciplinary Research Centers section). George Morgenthaler, using expertise gained in the special projects position, led the campus in developing and completing this wonderful partnership. It involved working across departments, campuses, and the business sector, along with interesting intellectual property issues and partnering with a CU regent, Norwood Robb.

The second example is the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, described on the facing page. This amazing gift started as several small seed projects in the Computer Science Department. Working with engineering faculty and development staff, I helped turn this into a larger, more coordinated Coleman Initiative. Finally, through partnering with other campuses and President Elizabeth Hoffman, the university was able to develop this into the $250 million gift endowing the Coleman Institute.

In both examples, there were many people who were important in developing the project. However, we often talk about such projects as if they were serendipity. I like to think about their success as opportunity plus creative thinking and hard work.

The special projects associate dean attempts to add to the mix where needed, working with all constituents so that on the outside, the success of a project looks like simple good fortune. We are part of a team whose job is to turn opportunity into serendipity — it is wonderful and challenging position.