Andrew Flanagin, a professor in the Department of Communication, has assumed the position of Director of the Center for Information Technology & Society (CITS) at UCSB.
CITS is dedicated to research and education about the cultural transitions and social innovations associated with technology, particularly in the highly dynamic environments that are so pervasive in organizations and societies today. Faculty associated with CITS bring diverse disciplinary perspectives- which range from Art and English to Sociology and Communication to Computer Science and Electrical Engineering- into conversation, forwarding cutting edge, multi-disciplinary research.
CITS supports the optional Technology and Society Ph.D. emphasis, which is available to students in participating doctoral programs at UCSB from the College of Engineering, the Social Sciences, and the Humanities. The emphasis provides interdisciplinary training on the relationships between new media and society with intensive faculty involvement. CITS also hosts a number of public events, including the CITS Distinguished Speaker Series and a monthly Faculty Lecture Series.
CITS was founded in 1999, on the thirtieth anniversary of the birth of the Internet. The Center is housed in the campus Office of Research, as a unit of the Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research. CITS is funded by private gifts, the university, and research grants. More information can be found at the CITS website: http://cits.ucsb.edu/