Hello Everyone,

At our last meeting on 11/12, we decided to use available technologies to make more efficient use of our time and to address the problem of the lack of full discussion when members of the LT must be absent from our regularly scheduled meetings.

We need to have a full discussion of the aims and goals of the Initiative, produce an assessment of the SLI for this academic year, and develop a work schedule for the remainder of this year.

We decided that we would cancel our November 26 SLI LT meeting in lieu of an online discussion (and because several LT members are going to be gone during that week). I have invited Maurice Hamington to discuss the Learning Communities' aims and goals in the context of the SLI's larger aims and goals at our meeting scheduled on December 10. I have assured him that he would have the conclusions of our discussion a week before he was to come to share his perspectives with us. That means I have committed to forwarding him the results/summary of our online discussion by December 3. If our online discussion is closed (hopefully finished) by November 26, then I should have enough time to compile, send to all for review and approval, and get the finished document to Maurice on time.

As we discussed at the last meeting, I will track the conversation and remind those of you who have not yet responded to do so before the deadline of the 26th. If, at any time, the discussion seems to be one that needs to go "face to face", please request that we do so in your conference reply.

I have attached several documents to help you review our past conversations. You will find the following:

1. "What is the SLI?" (current version)
2. "SLI LT retreat sept 02" (raw notes from our September 6 meeting)
3. "Work Schedule for SLI" (summary of specific tasks we have identified grouped into the categories of SLI LT responsibilities