(Prairie View)—Prairie View A&M University was named to InfoWorld Magazine's Top 100 Most Innovative Corporate IT Solutions in education. The annual award honors 100 IT projects that demonstrate the most creative use of cutting-edge technologies to further business goals.
Nominations were submitted by InfoWorld readers, technology partners and end-user companies. The nomination guidelines stipulate that consideration would be given to projects that stretch beyond the typical, off-the-shelf solution, using multiple technologies in innovative ways to serve well-defined business goals.
"We are very pleased to receive this honor," said PVAMU President George C. Wright, "We understand that consistent access to the Internet is an important tool in the educational process. Our goal was to provide our students with the latest technology so they could take full advantage of the convenience and connectivity of wireless Internet in their on-campus housing."
The university was honored for its WAN optimization and wireless project which focused on providing wireless high-speed internet for the student residential facilities. In order to provide nearly 4,000 students with Internet access, 420 access points were placed in 44 buildings around the campus. Students were given web keys to access the wireless connections. The project has proven very successful with consistent peak traffic counts of more than 500 students during evening hours.
Prairie View A&M University is the second-oldest public institution of higher education in Texas. Offering baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 35 master's degrees and four doctoral degrees, this Historically Black University has an established reputation for providing thousands of African-American engineers, nurses and educators. A member of the Texas A&M University System, the University has been dedicated to fulfilling its land-grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and service for nearly 130 years.