News 01-10-2003
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New Jersey Proposes Three University Merger
New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey has named 18 education and business leaders
to begin working out the details of his plan to merge the state's three major
research universities, Rutgers University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry
of New Jersey, and New Jersey Institute of Technology. The plan calls for the
three schools to be blended into one large state university system spanning
three regional campuses. The aim of the proposal is to improve medical and health
education in the state, as well as lift the state universities' stature in both
teaching and research.
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This week, John Di Marco of Long Island University discusses how instructors
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MIT MBA Students Explore Silicon Valley
This week, more than 80 MBA students from the Sloan School of Management visited
Northern California high-tech companies during MIT's annual Silicon Valley Tech
Trek. For more than 10 years, the Tech Trek has allowed Sloan students to learn
about technology companies and begin to build relationships. As class of 2003
trekker Paul Konasewich put it, "How else could you visit a dozen companies
in a week, hear about their strategies, and ask questions?" More than 30 companies
hosted the MBA students.
Universities Compete in Extreme DVD Making
Nine film schools from the U.S. and Canada will compete for $20,000 in an extreme
DVD making competition to go from script to final DVD in under 48 hours. The
competition is being sponsored by Pioneer Electronics Inc., which is supplying
the new, high-speed DVD burners students will use in the competition. Universities
will be competing for a $10,000 grand prize grant and $5,000 grants for two
runner-up schools. Each team will be given a scenario to follow and will be
required to finalize a script, recruit cast, determine shooting locations, film,
edit, and burn up to a 10-minute short onto DVD, all within a 48-hour timeframe.
Misael Sanchez, Director of Instruction, Columbia University Film School, called
the project "a great way for our students to utilize their skills while learning
to appreciate a filmmaker's greatest resource—time."
GW Unit Launches Information Security Practice
GWSolutions Inc., an information technology consulting company owned by George
Washington University, has launched an information security practice. The group
aims to assist clients through the information assurance process from risk assessment
through policy development, solution deployment and employee education. The
company will offer courses using demonstrations of cyber-threats without risking
clients' critical networks. To head the practice, the company named Ronald Plesco
as Project Director and Timothy Rosenberg as Senior Specialist for the Information
Security Practice. Plesco was director of policy for the Pennsylvania State
Police; Rosenberg has been a consultant in critical infrastructure protection
and will begin teaching Information Warfare at GW this spring.
Drexel to Host eLearning Service for Colleges
Drexel University is hosting eLearning services for three Philadelphia colleges—Cabrini College, Neumann College, and Rosemont College. The University is
providing the services to 6,500 students at the schools via WebCT Vista, an
"academic enterprise system" that enables Drexel to share content across any
course or section, minimizing maintenance, storage space, and version control
problems. Drexel has been a customer of WebCT Campus Edition course management
software for three years. The new platform will let the three colleges maintain
local academic control and customize their eLearning applications, as well as
enhance data exchange among Drexel's courses, student information system, and
portal.
Deals, Awards, Contracts in Higher Education
OUTSOURCING—Mohave Community College in the northwestern corner
of Arizona signed a seven-year, $9.8 million technology management contract
with Collegis Inc., a provider of technology services to higher education. The
company will manage all core technology functions at MCC, including the use
of administrative software, such as financials, admissions, and registration.
It will also provide an executive director to lead the MCC information technology
department and develop a strategic transition from in-house to outsource technology
management staff. Most current IT department staff members will have an opportunity
to join Collegis staff.
GRAPHICS—The Art Institutes, which provides art education via 27
schools throughout the U.S., signed an agreement with Corel for 7,000 licenses
of CorelDRAW 11, Painter 7, and KnockOut 2. The company has also signed a $1
million deal with the New Media Consortium, a non-profit dedicated to exploring
new forms of teaching, learning, and creative expression; and University of
the Arts in Philadelphia for software on the university's 600 computer systems,
a deal valued at about $132,000.