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.
At the foundation of the new infrastructure will be a fiber-optic backbone network, which provides the capacity for institutions to handle the flow of complex data, video, and voice communications across their campus. A new telephone system, a high-speed computer network, and a campus video broadcast system are being made possible in the new infrastructure.
