A Day in the Life of BC Hatchett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiU0BnICcY8
1. Thank you for joining me for this month’s edition of the “Tech Manager Spotlight.” Start by telling us a little about what you do and a little about your background.
I am the Associate Director for Classroom Technology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. My team provides AV services for 500+ technology-enhanced spaces including design, support, consultation, and we are now moving into installation. I kinda stumbled into the AV industry, and never really thought of it as a career. My background is in television production and I have worked at network affiliates as well as an international simulcast facility, so when the opportunity arose to move into technology management in higher education, I really didn’t know what I was getting into. But I bought the ticket and took the ride and it has been amazing so far.
2. Have you always worked in AV? What did the path look like for you to get where you are now?
Before getting into AV, I worked in the broadcast world. I started at an ABC affiliate in Bowling Green, KY, and then went on to work at a simulcast hub in Louisville, KY. The 24/7 grind of broadcasting started to become unworkable with a new family, so I started looking for other opportunities in the area around Louisville. I happened across a Media Services position at Vanderbilt Law School and took a chance not really knowing that it was more of an AV position than a media production position. Long story short I rolled the dice and ended up loving the AV industry and have stuck with it for the past 15 years.
3. What is your morning routine?
As soon as I get to campus first thing is coffee. If I want to be remotely productive, coffee must be involved. After that, it consists of catching up on email, Teams messages, ticket queues, and checking over my daily to-do list.
4. What does an average week-day look like for you?
There really isn’t an average weekday, especially right now. Some days I’m knee-deep in meetings, other days I’m knee-deep in helping in the field. My position is very much a player/coach one where I go from helping customers in the classroom, to leading the team on projects. After work, it is normally running my kids back and forth from evening activities.
5. What does your busiest day look like? What are the challenges your role faces, and how do you overcome those?
My busiest day is probably when we start working on classroom upgrades. The morning routine starts the same, but then I roll in some project management and daily site visits to ensure that the projects are moving along without issues. All of this on top of my normal daily duties mean that there is not a lot of downtime when projects are in full swing.
6. What energizes you and inspires you?
Knowing that the work we do has an impact on how our students learn and how our faculty teaches. We play a small part, but I know that it is impactful in the overall mission of the university.
7. If another tech manager were to follow you around all day, what would they most be surprised by? What would they learn?
I think they would be surprised at how different the schools are at Vanderbilt. Arts & Science has different needs than Engineering, and so on and so forth. At times it can feel like you are working at several different universities at one time, but it does make it fun. I think they would learn that flexibility is key and the people at Vanderbilt are friendly.
8. Tell us about the project you are currently working on now?
We have several things we are currently working on, but the largest is a major renovation of our business school. It is going to have a massive multifunction room with our first direct view LED wall. Completely new classrooms on all 4 floors with both case-based and active learning spaces. We are really looking forward to this one getting underway.
9. Comparing your career path over time, what are some of the moments, accomplishments, or projects that you’re most proud of?
I think that I am most proud of how my team responded over the past year during COVID. Last summer we worked to prep over 80 spaces with cameras and mics for hybrid learning in about a month and a half. During this time, we also had to prep the rest of our classroom spaces (around 500ish) as well as put together a training program for our faculty that would be teaching in these new rooms. Once the semester started, we launched directly into support operations and were averaging around 80 support requests a day for about two straight weeks before it started to taper off. We had to rope in help from some of the IT support teams and overall, I could not be more proud of how all of our teams worked together to give faculty and students as many options on how to give and receive instruction.
10. What do you enjoy doing on weekends? How do you spend your time outside of work?
Normally during the weekends, I am working at home on projects in the yard and around the house. Outside of work, I really try to unplug and focus on my family. Over the past year, I have really made an effort to keep from becoming burnt out, because it can happen very easily with the increased workload we are seeing across the institution.
11. You’re one of the co-founders of HETMA, which really seems to have taken off and gained a lot of attention. What was the thought when founding the organization?
It has been an incredible journey so far with HETMA and has been fulfilling to see the community response. I think the higher ed community is very tight and HETMA really just gave form and identity to something that was already there. I am beyond excited to see HEMTA start to come together with a more formal structure soon.
12. Where do you envision HETMA two years from now? Five years from now? A decade from now?
I truly think that in a few years, HETMA will be known as the main advocacy group for higher education AV. This is not to take away from the other great higher ed AV organizations that are currently out there, but I feel that HETMA’s calling is to try to have direct influence with manufacturers and organizations to make sure that our vertical has a seat at the table.
13. What is your life motto and how do you apply it to your daily routine?
I don’t really have a motto. I just recognize that I am blessed to be in the position that I’m in and that provides the perspective to keep pushing forward. If I had to pick one though, I guess it would be “The Dude Abides”.
14. What is one technology trend you are seeing that will redefine AV in higher ed in the next decade?
We are in such a period of flux that it is hard to pin down just one tech trend. But if I have to, I will say that hybrid is here to stay so the technology to make this experience will continue to improve at lightning speed. Universities have invested a lot of time and resources, so now that faculty and students have become accustomed to hybrid, these tools will more than likely continue to be used and expand in their usage.
This Month’s Manager: BC Hatchett
BC Hatchett, M.A.Ed. is the Associate Director for Classroom Technology with Vanderbilt University Information Technology. He holds a master’s degree in education and has worked in higher education technology management for 15 years. BC is also one of the co-founders of the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HEMTA) which is working to provide a greater voice for the higher education technology industry. He is extremely passionate about serving his institution and providing the best possible experience to Vanderbilt’s faculty, staff, and students. Outside of work, BC enjoys spending time with family, friends, watching the Nashville Predators, and quoting The Big Lebowski as often as possible.