Summer is the season many colleges and universities schedule
construction and renovation projects on their campuses because it is
when such activity is least disruptive for faculty, administrators, and
students.
This past summer, the sight of workers pulling wires and cables
through buildings, and installing computer terminals and connection
ports in walls was a common one on campuses that designated these
months to build and upgrade their computer and telecommunications
networks.
At a number of historically Black colleges and universities
(HBCUs), administrators took advantage of the relatively slower pace on
their campuses to have campus networks built or upgraded.
“We had a busy summer with information technology improvements,”
says Ronald Forsythe, director of technology planning at the University
of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Schools, including Livingstone College, Norfolk State University,
University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Winston Salem State University,
St. Paul’s College, and Florida A&M University, report considerable
activity this past summer with computer network development. Technology
companies have beefed up marketing efforts to win the business of HBCUs
as they build and upgrade campus efforts. Knowledgeable sources say the
HBCU information technology market will range between $40 and $50
million annually for the next few years.
Small, but Not Inexpensive
Students returning to Livingstone College this fall will find their
dormitory rooms outfitted with connection ports into which they can
plug personal and laptop computers, and link to the campus network with
Internet access. Starting this past June, work crews have been building
an entirely new information technology infrastructure that integrates
telephone, video, and computer data transmission into a comprehensive
network.
