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AT&T Foundation gives $50,000 to support informatics program
By MARY COCHRANE
Reporter Contributor
Demonstrating its ongoing support of the School of Informatics, the AT&T Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to the school for the development of a new program supporting an undergraduate degree in informatics.
Accepting a check from representatives of the foundation, W. David Penniman, dean of the school, said that AT&T "has enabled the School of Informatics to offer exciting new educational programs and technologies for training the next generation of information professionals, building a pipeline of professionals for tomorrow's workforce."
Earlier grants from AT&T, totaling $250,000, provided funding for the school's master of arts curriculum in informatics and support for the creation of an instructional-technology laboratory complex at the school that greatly enhances research in neural networking, data representation, decision theory, digital libraries and social networks.
The new grant will allow the school to build upon the success of its master's program by expanding the informatics concept to the undergraduate level.
"We are delighted to continue our support to the School of Informatics," said Kathleen Westover, vice president of sales for AT&T. "An undergraduate program in informatics will fulfill the need for students seeking access to information-technology careers. It also will provide AT&T additional opportunities to connect with promising young students, teachers and information professionals in Western New York."
Penniman said that planning for the undergraduate program in informatics is in the early stages and that he anticipates forwarding a proposal for the program to SUNY for approval in about a year. The undergraduate program will combine technical information with competencies in written and oral communication, interpersonal communication, critical thinking, project planning and execution, and team-based work. Technical coursework will include Web design, database management systems, statistics and computer programming.
"By making the field of informatics open to students with different objectives, backgrounds and interests, the information profession is increasingly likely to attract a more diverse workforce," Penniman added.
Part of the AT&T Foundation grant will support an outreach program to promote interest among high school students in pursuing educational opportunities and careers available in the information professions. The outreach program also will target women and minorities, two groups that are under-represented in the IT workforce, in the telecommunications field and within related academic-degree programs.
"It is clear that recruiting students at a younger age, as well as minorities, for the new undergraduate program is a crucial need and an important priority in planning additional informatics degree offerings," Penniman said.
The grant is part of "The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation," which has a goal of $250 million and is in its final phase.