Morning.

It took pleasure to stand before you here

today to welcome you to
the celebration of the past and

the future of the digital media
program and the Wesley center.

My name is Jay Bolter I have the honor
of being the Wesley professor

of new media here in
the digital media program.

I see many old friends and

students in the audience today here with
us today and it's really gratifying.

Good to revisit the past in this way and

to think about where we have Ben and
and how far we have come as a program

in the last ten years to take
stock of our remarkable progress.

The most obvious sign of that progress is
the new home for a program here in T.S.R.

B. but I think probably
most of us would agree that

even more important than
that new physical location

are the new degree programs that we've had
over the ten years of the Republic sation

the redefinition of the master's
program and the Ph D. program.

And I think that even before
we begin the program today

there are two people that I would
like to single out who have

really played the key role
in laying the foundation for

what you see today what we have today and
one of them isn't here that

can can ask both of us are chair for
so long and played such a key role.

The other is Janet Janet Murray who was
the first director of graduate studies and

really I think more than any
one other person to find

the program as I said laid
the foundation for what we have but

what's really exciting to me today is.

To think not only about the past but

all the people who weren't here ten
years ago who are with us today.

Faculty and students.

It's a truism to say that digital
media technology and the cultural uses

of digital media are exploding and
changing constantly and indeed they are.

But when I think about the real motive for
change in our program and

years our faculty vaporous young and

with a vision for
taking the program in new directions.

We have our new graduate chair.

Ian Bogost who's worked so
hard to do that and

I see so many of our other faculty here
today who weren't here ten years ago.

Celia and Allie and Michael and and

one thing the audience the entire
digital media faculty has worked so

hard to really give us the prospects
that we have today and

that's what I find really exciting and
it makes me optimistic for the future.

Jim and

Mary Wesley who were the benefactors that
gave us our first physical location and

then whose presence allowed
us to move to T.S.R.

being sorry that they
couldn't be here today.

Marriott still recovering from an illness.

But Jim sent an e-mail and

it and I'd like to read a few excerpts
of it indicating his pleasure

with the directions that we have
taken over the past ten years.

He said this looks like a fine celebration
of the first decade of the center's

operation our recent visit and tour of
the new facility was very helpful in

demonstrating the work of the students and
in bringing us up to date on the progress

they are making it is gratifying
to be part of the internationally

recognized Center for
New Media Studies and you modestly at.

We do not expect or
need any new personal recognition or

expressions of appreciation for
our support of this facility.

We are proud to have launched
the program and we share the optimism

about prospects for growth and continuing
development in the second decade.

So we really are here today to think
about the future as well as the past.

And we have an exciting program
planned for you to do that

but I am told that the projector
is not out of focus.

It's in fact all of our eyes that
are out of focus and you know.

So this is the schedule for
the program today.

And you can see it mostly
happens before lunch but

we have first the keynote speaker.

Mary Flannagan introduce in just a moment
and then two exciting panels that

will be chaired by Janet one
a different media scholarship and

one on the relationship of the ACA
at the academy and industry and

then after lunch we have current and
future transitional media and

I hope that all of you can stay for
the Closing Remarks by in and

by our charity to live and
then for the really

exciting demos that happen at three
o'clock when we see all the fascinating

things that the students are doing in our
program and the fact they work as well.