Veritas, Vol. 40, No. 02, October 1997

              Veritas
October 1997
Volume 40 • Number 2
For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
University of Miami gains the technological edge
In line with the advent of a new century, the University of Miami has been making significant advancements on the technology front.
One of the major initiatives underway is the computer wiring of all the dorms, which will be completed by the fall of 1998.
“The new connectivity to the residential colleges will allow every student on campus the ability to access an almost unlimited number of resources,” says President Edward T. Foote II.
“This is a major step into the Information Age of the next century, and I am excited that we can provide this service to our students.”
By this time next year, all students will be able to access Netscape, the Internet, and the World Wide Web from their dorms, or from their homes if they live off campus. They will also interchange papers with professors, exchange ideas with other students, and do more research from their rooms.
“Students will look at different ways of presenting things,” says M. Lewis Temares, dean of the College of Engineering and vice president of Information Technology. “They might put notes, outlines, and research materials for classes on the web for all students to access.”
A majority of the conduit to the buildings and the wiring ofWalsh Tower of Stanford Residential College has already been put into place. The total cost of the undertaking amounts to over $7 million in reserves saved from computer and telecommunications expenditures.
Another stellar feat for the University is the launch of the new web site,
which is actually an upgrade to the former site. The new front page has adopted a fresh look with more options for visitors to choose from. Beyond the front pages, individual departments will remain responsible for the design of their pages, some of which are still under construction.
A great deal more information will be accessible from the University web site along with an enhanced user-friendliness. “We’re also going to separate the student and faculty home pages,” says Temares. “All non-University business-related pages will be kept off the University web page,” says Temares.
In addition, the University will change its server from BBN Planet to UUNet and join a consortia called Internet 2, which is a high-speed network. There are currendy 116 universities on this advanced system, which is of significant value to researchers due to its tremendous speed.
At the same time, individual schools are involved in their own special modifications and features. For example, one may dial up and access the School of Business from home through an 800 number that connects to the campus network.
In the always hot e-mail arena, Office Vision will be completely phased out over the next year. Though there are various e-mail systems in use at each of the campuses, the University will have people trained to support the latest e-mail sensation, Microsoft Exchange. Although no one will be required to switch over to Microsoft Exchange, having strong technical support along with an advanced, user-friendly system should be incentive enough for doing so.
The new web site design provides continuously updated University news and information with easier access to students, alumni, and visitors.
The School of Music is also maintaining a cutting-edge position by providing its students with opportunities to experiment with the latest technological advances.
“We’re always searching for and acquiring the next generation of future music technology,” says Ken Pohlmann, chair, program director, and professor of music engineering technology in the Department of Music Media and Industry. “Frankly, that’s the most exciting part of the job.”
This past spring Pohlmann’s students devised hardware and software to provide streaming audio on the School of Music’s World Wide Web page. When a student performs a live recital in Clarke Recital Hall, the audio signal enters the studio and then goes onto a web server to appear on the World
Wide Web as a streaming audio file.
“Anybody around the world can log onto that web page and listen to the recital in real time as it is performed,” says Pohlmann. “With this new technology, the audience is theoretically unlimited.”
Audio streaming will also take us one step closer to distance learning, where lectures may be streamed from the University’s classrooms to virtually anyone on the globe with a computer. This would enable a student in Beijing to enroll in a University of Miami course without ever having to leave China.
No longer bound by the confines of a brick and mortar institution, the possibilities will be limitless, and the University of Miami will offer them all.
United Way event a huge success due to University effort
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In what was a massive community service project kicking off United Way’s 1997-98 campaign, faculty and staff pitched in a hand to make the refurbishing of a Hialeah elementary school an enormous success. “Put Your Heart in Hialeah” called on volunteers to rally at Twin Lakes Elementary and Graham Park, an adjacent eight-acre public park used by both the elementary students and the residents of Hialeah.
The effort on the part of University faculty and staff was tremendous.
“Our team’s initial assignment was a landscape project. Grass had to be dug up and pulled out around our project area. They then put down dirt, planted 280 plants, and mulched all around it,” says Pat Grewe, University campaign assistant director. “The University crew was so fast, they finished that first project right after lunch time.”
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President Edward T. Foote II stands proud amidst the hard-working faculty and staff volunteers.
Though Grewe admonished them to relax and cool down, the group was eager to do more.
The University crew was next directed to the park next door, where they were instructed to sod the entire
field. At once, they formed an assembly line, through which they relendessly passed down huge squares of sod until they quickly covered the entire brown, lifeless field with lush green grass. The crew then returned to Grewe to ask for more.
“They didn’t want to quit,” says Grewe. “The UM crew were so well-represented, aggressive, and ready to work; I was just so proud of them.”
Volunteers reported a remarkable difference in the scenery from when they first walked into the lackluster school in the morning to the time they left later in the day.
“It was a difference of night and day. The school was painted with beautiful, bright colors, and suddenly there were flowers, plants, and trees all around,” says Grewe. “It’s now a beautiful place for children to come back to school.”