Fun Fact: In 1837, President Andrew Jackson's supporters gifted him with a wheel of cheese weighing 1,400 lbs. Jackson put this cheese in the Entrance Hall of the White House and invited the people of the United States to eat it - and thereby meet the people who represented them in government. According to White House history, the cheese was consumed in two hours, and the White House smelled of cheese for weeks!
I mirrored something like that today. I provided a big wheel of cheddar-chive cheese, and invited the campus community to the Student Center to eat it - and thereby meet the Director of Information Technology. It was an excellent opportunity to ask questions, and learn about our campus IT plan. As an added "draw", and because of my Scottish ancestry, I wore my kilt!
In just over 2 hours, the campus helped to finish off our big block of cheese. Very little was left! By one estimate, over 200 people (students, faculty, staff) stopped by, so this was very successful. Popular topics of conversation included: (handouts)
- The network upgrade, which should start in January-March 2012
- Gmail, and Google Apps
- Zimride
