Excellence in Networking 1995 Award Winner

Cornell University

Cornell University's successes in networking are largely due to a top-level commitment to and involvement in planning for networking and technology. A document referred to as the 2001 Report addressed the important role technology would play in shaping Cornell's future and helped lead the institution's networking efforts ambitiously forward. From a situation in 1991, where only half the faculty, a quarter of students, and a mere 10 percent of staff were served by a network, Cornell has evolved into an Information Age institution, where 95 percent of the faculty, almost 100 percent of the students, and 90 percent of the staff are connected to and use the campus network. The University's successful transition from a terminal host model of central computing to a client/server computing framework gives users a consistent, flexible, easy-to-use interface to administrative services and support. New administrative/support systems give students, faculty, and staff online access to important operating information, saving everyone time and money. Several Cornell Library projects are important pioneering efforts to preserve and electronically distribute books across worldwide networks. An instructional Web server has achieved considerable popularity with faculty wanting to incorporate Internet resources and Web technology into the curriculum. A University extension network connects a cooperative extension agency to clientele from around the state; another project connects area human service agencies to campus resources and the Internet; and a real-time desktop videoconferencing program (CU-See Me) developed at the University is made available at no charge for instructional purposes.