“We need to pay attention to the trends in technology,” the second of four candidates for assistant vice president for academic affairs for technology told those in attendance for his open interview session Monday.

David Wang, associate vice president for information technology at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., met with various university administrators and organizations Monday to discuss his qualifications for the position, which is in its second search attempt after Blair Lord, vice president for academic affairs, said in January neither of the two previous finalists were a good match for Eastern.

During his open session interview, Wang stressed the importance of knowing technology users and being aware of what tools other universities are using to deliver technology.

“You need to know about the users’ background to know what tools will be easiest for them to use,” Wang said. Understanding them will also help to gain their support, he added.

Also, a university must know what the rest of the country is doing, he said.

“You have better information to make a good decision” on which tools are effective, he said. By watching trends and talking to other universities, “we can also avoid the mistakes other people are making,” Wang said.

“I have fun communicating with different campuses.”

Two other candidates still await the chance to prove their qualifications for the position. Roy Roper, associate director of the Office of Information Technologies and director of academic computing at Montclair State University in Upper Montclair, N.J., will be on campus April 17 and 18. Frank Moore, executive director for information and instructional technology at Longwood College in Farmville, Va., visits Eastern on April 22 and 23.

The first candidate, Michael Hoadley, director of the Center for Interactive Technologies in Education and Corporations at the University of South Dakota, was on campus April 8 and 9.