N.C. Central Signs Pact With IBM
DURHAM, N.C.
North Carolina Central University students will have laptop computers to carry to class as a result of a recent deal with IBM that will supply the Durham, N.C., historically Black campus with laptops, student job opportunities and software over the next four years.
The agreement will allow NCCU to join IBM's well-known ThinkPad University program, making discounted IBM hardware available to students, faculty and staff. Other program features include company assistance in upgrading campus technology, professional development courses for employees and computer systems' maintenance. IBM currently coordinates nearly 130 ThinkPad University programs with schools worldwide, including the historically Black Johnson C. Smith University.
NCCU Chancellor Dr. James H. Ammons has said the partnership with IBM grew out of efforts to develop stronger ties with corporations, particularly those in the nearby Research Triangle Park area. The goals are for the school to get scholarship funding, technology support and student internships while providing companies with experienced graduates who can step into jobs with little on-the-job training.
"Thus far, the IBM staff has put in over 50 hours of (university project) planning. We hope that with some of the advanced work that we have done, that by the fall of 2002, when students and faculty come to the campus, that this technology will be available. That's our target date," Ammons told the Durham
Herald-Sun.
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