UNCF Awards $10 Million IT Contract to Dallas Firm 

By Ronald Roach

FAIRFAX, Va.
The United Negro College Fund has awarded a Dallas firm a five-year information technology services contract valued at $10 million. According to the agreement, Affiliated Computer Services Inc. will provide UNCF with a full range of IT services including data center operations, server management, network services and support, security monitoring, help desk support, application management and software development.
UNCF is the nation’s largest and oldest minority higher education assistance organization. ACS is a provider of business process and information technology outsourcing solutions.

 “Information technology is a critical enabler for UNCF to achieve its mission of maximizing funds that are available to students,” says Dr. Michael L. Lomax, UNCF’s president and CEO. “Our decision to partner with ACS for IT solutions is based on a very thoughtful consideration of the company’s capabilities and leadership in this arena. ACS will help us advance UNCF’s IT systems, maximize cost efficiency and further improve our overall service to meet the needs of HBCUs and students.”
 UNCF provides operating support to 39 historically Black colleges and universities by helping them to maintain an affordable tuition rate. In addition to member college assistance, UNCF supports roughly 65,000 students at nearly 1,000 colleges and universities and administers more than 450 scholarships and fellowships.

ACS will institute a number of advanced technology solutions to support UNCF, including a Voice-Over IP network for UNCF data and voice transmissions. This technology will streamline and enhance communications efficiency between UNCF’s corporate office and its more than 20 field offices across the nation.

“We will provide UNCF with a new IT platform to grow its business, develop new applications to better integrate communications and improve its ability to maximize donations,” says Lynn Blodgett, group president of ACS Commercial Solutions.