A strategic partnership between PNC Bank Corp. and Penn State that will support the new School of Information Sciences and Technology was announced yesterday in Harrisburg.
Underlining the tremendous value of high technology training and leadership in the Commonwealth, PNC pledged $1 million to support faculty and students of the new school. The School of Information Sciences and Technology opened its doors for the first time Aug. 24 and has a statewide enrollment of 425 students at 13 Penn State locations and is training individuals for the information age.
The gift, made through the PNC Bank Foundation, will endow the school's first career development professorship with $250,000. Funds from the endowment will help the IST recruit and retain top-level faculty members by supporting their efforts in teaching, research and service. The remaining $750,000 of the gift will endow a PNC Technology Scholarship Fund to assist IST undergraduates of at least sophomore standing beginning in fall 2000.
In addition, Timothy Shack, PNC's senior vice president and chief information officer, will serve on the IST's advisory board. The board will serve as a source of business and industry expertise to assure that the school's programs of teaching, research and outreach are in tune with current and future trends in information sciences and technology.
University President Graham B. Spanier said strategic partnerships with businesses like PNC and government can make the school a model for outstanding student educational experiences, and provide positive impacts on workforce development in Pennsylvania and beyond.
PNC Bank Corp. employs more than 1,500 technology workers to service its six business units. Its headquarters are in Pittsburgh.
Thomas H. O'Brian, PNC Bank Corp. chairman, said Penn State's School of Information Sciences and Technology was specifically designed to address compelling business needs.
The IST program includes elements of computer science, computer engineering and management of information systems. According to some estimates, hundreds of thousands of information technology jobs go unfilled nationwide each year. By 2005, that number will grow to 1 million open positions.
"The field of information sciences is revolutionizing commerce, communications and day-to-day living, so the IST was designed from the ground up as an interdisciplinary program to address more than technical and managerial skills. We bring economic and cultural dimensions of the Information Age into the curriculum," said IST Dean James B. Thomas.
PNC Bank Corp. is one of the largest diversified financial services organizations in the United States. Its major businesses include regional community banking, corporate banking, private banking, mortgage banking, secured finance, asset management and mutual fund servicing.
R. Stewart and Barbara Brunhouse of Tewksbury, N. J., have given the College of the Liberal Arts $125,000 to endow a scholarship for undergraduate students. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of merit to students in any of the college's programs. New Jersey residents will have first consideration.
Stewart is a 1967 Penn State graduate in general arts and sciences. For the last 19 years, he has been president of A&A Co., which develops and manufactures industrial coatings and designs processes for use in applying coatings. According to Stewart, virtually every Pentium microprocessor chip is made on equipment coated with A&A's materials.
Barbara Brunhouse is the creative force behind a series of books, Network to Home Services, published regionally by Lairhouse Publications. The books contain a directory of recommended businesses that provide home services that range from garden photography to plumbing to catering.