LDAP Campus Directory with AJAX Search
The Drew University Faculty/Staff Directory was the result of a confluence of political coincidences. While we in the web department had hoped to replace the previous campus directory (which relied upon manual updates) for a while, we simultaneously were lucky enough to have the computing department working on a new LDAP directory as well as a new department head actively seeking this feature. This allowed us to get certain features included (since the back-end was still being constructed) as well as some changes in policy (scrapping our old opt-in system in favor of an opt-out model).
The web directory contains a few features that make it stand out from other online directories, including a few additions to the search feature that will take you directly to an individual's profile if they're the only result returned.
When a user logs in, they are given access to edit certain portions of their profile (the portions that are not maintained by the office of Human Resources). These include setting a nickname, adding a photo, and adding a Resume/CV.
Three fields (Research, Interests, and Bio/Comment) are HTML content and can be edited directly using an on-page WYSIWYG editor named Xinha.
The directory includes an AJAX snap-in that allows simple searches from other pages, such as our search results page. Because of this, any user anywhere on our site can simply type a name into the search box at the upper right hand corner of every page to get LDAP results along with page results.
For more information, see the Drew University Faculty/Staff Directory at http://www.drew.edu/faculty_search/search.php, or type a name into the search box on any page of http://www.drew.edu.