Decision Theater wows visitors

A road trip to Arizona State University (ASU) allowed a large group from UMKC to examine more in-depth Interim Chancellor Leo Morton's proposal at the beginning of the semester to build a "Decision Theater" (DT) on campus. (See "Morton's vision for UMKC," 8/25/08.) On Oct. 17, close to 25 people spent the day watching demonstrations of how the high-tech DT could facilitate the decision-making process by visualizing three-dimensional models of problems to solve. "I think it was very cool," Vice Chancellor for Academic Programs and Chief Information Officer Mary Lou Hines-Fritts said. "Not even so much for the technology part of it … but as a teaching tool and a community participation tool." The DT uses multiple advanced projectors and massive computing power to model 360-degree images for people involved in considering different solutions to large-scale problems. Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser was along for the trip and Hines-Fritts said he had three questions: how much was it going to cost to start up, how much did it cost to operate and was it worth it? Hines-Fritts said ASU spent almost $6 million to build its version, half of which went to equipment, and the university now spends $2 million annually to run it. She said the mayor brought up sewers and light rail as possible uses for the DT. "How do you look at the cost of missed opportunities?" Hines-Fritts asked. "Often times it's a very difficult cost to determine, but we've very often seen the cost of bad decisions in our taxes." Dean Ellen Suni, School of Law, said it has been very hard to define a focus for UMKC's Urban Mission, which is "sort of scattered around campus," and the DT could provide some opportunities to give a focal point to the mission efforts. "One thing that is clear is that there needs to be financing," Suni said. "Part of it will come through grants or people using it, but I don't think that we can expect the entire cost will be covered that way." Suni said she wasn't certain what the people who are interested in using the service would be willing to pay. "Like the mayor said, some of the problems that could be discussed in the DT have major financial implications," Suni said. "If you make a decision that's even a few percentage points better … you're potentially saving millions of dollars. Does that mean they would pay significant dollars? It's hard to tell." She said the next step is to develop a viable business plan. Both Suni and Hines-Fritts emphasized the benefits of being able to play the game of "what if?" Hines-Fritts said the ability to look at data graphically and really understand it instead of getting lost in the numbers was a wonderful opportunity. Suni was also interested in studying the process of critical thinking. She said the Law School's courtroom has a viewing area where people can study and learn from the actions in the courtroom itself, and she saw possibilities in doing something similar with the DT. As to the eventual location of the new building to house the project, Suni suggested it might be possible to incorporate it in to a library addition the Law School has been studying. One solution might be to build a "physical bridge" between the Law School and the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration, she said. "I think it ought to go wherever we can get it done quickly and wherever it makes sense," Suni said. "My own sense is that I personally think it should be on the main campus." Hines-Fritts agreed, and both said it should be possible to set up remote connections with the Hospital Hill campus. Among others who visited ASU were Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Mel Tyler; Interim Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Rick Anderson; the new Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Cindy Pemberton; Assistant Vice Chancellor for Campus Facilities and Management Bob Simmons; Professor John George, School of Education; Professor Peter Eaton, Economics; and Professor Joy Swallow, Architecture. dsimons@unews.com