FYI
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Kaleem M. S. Caire
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-----Original Message-----
From: Kaleem Caire [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2000 8:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 3 Companies Give $101-Million for Computing at Black Colleges
This story from The Chronicle of Higher Education
(http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from: [log in to unmask]
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FYI
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Monday, March 13, 2000
3 Companies Give $101-Million for Computing at Black Colleges
By SCOTT CARLSON
Three major corporations announced Friday that they are
donating $101-million worth of computer software, hardware,
and training to historically black colleges and universities.
Officials from the Microsoft Corporation, International
Business Machines Corporation, and AT&T said they would join
in a Technology Enhancement Capital Campaign intended to
bridge the "digital divide" in higher education -- the gap
between the numbers of black students and white students who
have access to computer technology.
The United Negro College Fund, which arranged the donations,
estimates that 15 percent of students at historically black
colleges own computers, compared with 55 percent of students
nationally.
"That's a big gap," said William H. Gray III, president of the
fund. "How can you produce competent and skilled leaders for
tomorrow when you have a digital divide that's that big? What
this campaign is designed to do is to bridge that."
Mr. Gray added that computer use among faculty members at
black colleges was also significantly lower than among all
faculty members in the United States, and that most of the
computing hardware used at black institutions was obsolete.
Under the deal, I.B.M. will offer discounts up to 50 percent
on laptops and other hardware to more than 420,000 students at
103 historically black colleges. The students will purchase
the products through a special Web site.
I.B.M. will also offer discounts on servers, workstations,
printers, and other hardware to the United Negro College
Fund's 39 member institutions to help them build their
intranets. The organization has estimated the discounts' value
at $50-million.
Also, Microsoft will donate $50-million worth of software
packages -- including Windows 2000 and Office 2000 -- and will
provide training programs for I.T. staff members at the fund's
member institutions.
Bruce M. Brooks, Microsoft's director of community affairs,
said the new gift was the company's second largest.
Mr. Brooks said Microsoft doesn't plan at this time to upgrade
the donated software when it becomes outmoded. "I know things
evolve, but we don't get the sense that this will be obsolete
in the near future," he said. "This is cutting-edge,
bleeding-edge stuff that will take them well into the future."
AT&T will give $1-million to the campaign for
computer-training programs for faculty members.
In addition to the $101-million in donations, the United Negro
College Fund plans to raise an additional $30-million to
upgrade the computer platforms at its member institutions and
to pay for training for the colleges' staff and faculty
members.
Officials from both Microsoft and I.B.M. played down the role
the campaign might have in grooming future customers for the
two corporations.
"It's not about hitting the education market to get the
students on I.B.M. products," said William L. Hughes, the
company's vice president of communications. "It's about
getting people online and breaking down the digital divide."
President Clinton praised the partnership in a statement.
"We cannot allow unequal access to deepen divisions along the
lines of race, income, education level, and geography," he
said. "I believe we can use technology to help make the
American dream a reality for more citizens. ... Efforts like
the Technology Enhancement Capital Campaign are inspiring
examples of what can be done in partnership to meet this
important goal."
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Copyright 2000 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
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