Membership

Cameron Seay at North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC
Cameron Seay considers the mainframe to be the most important business computing platform and he's led the Entrprise Computing program at this school. Find out about his recent road trip that expanded his students' classroom experiences and got them face-to-face contact with 100+ business professionals.

Brenda McGurgan at Highland Park High School in Dallas, TX
As a way to challenge her Advanced Placement students, Ms. McGurgan brought "big iron" to her classroom with IBM's Master the Mainframe 2007 competition. Although the majority of the competitors were college students, her high-schoolers not only shone, but one was the overall winner!

Drs. "Olly" Gotel and Christell Scharff at Pace University, New York
Thinking worldwide and designing group projects with the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and the University of Delhi, these women are preparing their students for a business environment that includes global markets, outsourcing, and on-demand services.

Prof. Dr.-Ing Wilhelm G. Spruth at University of Leipzig
Prof. Wilhelm Spruth developed an IBM z/Series and OS/390 program at the prestigious German universities of Tuebingen and Leipzig, and is now striving to help other schools establish similar mainframe programs throughout his country.

Prof. A. Gökhan Yavuz at Yildiz Technical University
Professor Yavuz is giving Turkish students a "real" education. He has led groups of research assistants and students in the development of 50 projects that start in the classroom and then extend beyond this controlled environment to solve business problems in the real world.

Dr. Chu J. Jong at Illinois State University
Informed by quarterly planning sessions with large financial services companies in the Midwest, Dr. Jong has been instrumental in developing an Enterprise Computing Systems program that has a real-world perspective. It features a robust mainframe curriculum, guest lecturers, and field trips to large data centers.

Prof. Suk-Chung Yoon at Widener University, Chester PA
Professor Yoon stepped to the podium at the twelfth annual Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges to promote large-scale computing in computer science education. He shared his success with Widener's new mainframe program, System z courses, and lab assignments that bring the real world into the classroom.

Mark Nance at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, Sitka Alaska
With a new System i environment and timely technical training, Mark Nance and the Mt. Edgecumbe faculty are able to give their diverse student body the skills they need to succeed both in college and the workforce.

MSc. Patricia de Andrade Bueno Garcia at UniFAE Centro
Universitário Franciscano
Professor Andrade draws on her real-world experience as a corporate DBA, inspiring her students to advance their IBM DB2 skills and fill a gap in the Brazilian workforce.

Dr. Yannis Viniotis at State University of North Carolina
With the new Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME) program and mainframe technology courses, Dr. Viniotis is ensuring that NC State students are prepared with the skills needed in the 21st century.

Dr. Edward J. Romar at UMass Boston College of Management
Using IBM Lotus products, Dr. Romar organized the first Collaboration Jam on campus and found a creative way to encourage group communication and enhance his managerial courses.

Interview: Profiles in success
We talked to five IBM hires who gradated from schools that are involved with the Academic Initiative program. Let them tell you in their own words how their coursework helped them prepare for their careers.

Podcast: Drs. Paul Cronan and David Douglas at the University of Arkansas, Walton School of Business
Dr. Cronan and Dr. Douglas talk about the resurgence of mainframe computing, how it affects the skills students will need, and what they are doing to address this at their school. They also tell us about the massive data-mining system they are building to share with faculty and students at other institutions.

Podcast: Dr. Ann Majchrzak at the University of Southern California
Dr. Majchrzak tells us about the importance of business modeling in her undergraduate class in the Marshall School of Business and how she utilizes IBM WebSphere Business Modeler in the course lab.

Podcast: Dr. Rick So at the University of California, Irvine
As part of the MBA program at Paul Merage School of Business, Dr. So explains how he uses IBM WebSphere Business Modeler in an IT lab for his class on process management and analysis.

Podcast: J. Strother Moore & Greg Lavender, University of Texas
and Laura Baker from St. Edward's University, Austin
Moore and Lavender at University of Texas, Austin share their views about the challenges in computer science education since the dot-com bust and the increasing pervasiveness of computing in our modern society. Across town at St. Edward's, Baker and one of her former students talk about maintaining the balance between teaching theory and analytical skills versus contemporary technologies and tools.