Vol. 29 No. 11, February 2, 1984

f •\ V Volume 29, Number 11 Marist College, Poughkeepsle,N.Y. February 2,1984 J inits by Kevin Schulz ware will be available for use dur-; in providing higher education in and processor will be set up in a ing the coming fall semester. the area." network which will allow theni to Marist College will be receiving Murray said, "We hope to make Thousands of IBM employees communicate with each other. $2.5 million worth of computer this equipment available to are trained through Marist's adult Every major building on campus equipment in a grant from IBM, students and faculty on a 24-hour education program and many will be connected to the system, according to an announcement basis." ••_.••.•. courses at Marist are taught by and even students and faculty made by Marist President Dennis Much of the new equipment IBM employees. with home computers will even J. Murray at a press conference will be placed in the Lowell Murray and other college of tually have access to the computer last Wednesday. Thomas Center upon completion.. ficials ..-.'_ expressed network. Included in the grant are an An architect has been chosen and hopes that computers will be used Murray said that computer net IBM 4341 Model 12 Processor, groundbreaking is scheduled for for courses other than computer works in the information age are 100 computer terminals and 40" this spring, but, according to science ones as well.'.. as important as railroads and personal computers and software. John Lahey, vice president for "A major' goal of the in highways were in the industrial • The new processor will increase college advancement , the con stitution is the integration of age. He also emphasized' the Marist's current storage capacity struction of the building could technology and the liberal arts," significance of the unification of Jby 500 percent. - take up to 18 months. Murray . said. "We want ' to computer , science and com Murray expressed his con Until that time, the computers graduate students who are not on munications. fidence that the gift, which is the and terminals will be placed in ly literate in the traditional sense, , "The integration of these two largest in the college's history, several - Do'nnelly first-floor but technologically literate as areas, which will be housed in a will greatly improve Marist's classrooms and an expanded com well.". novel way in Marist's new Lowell puter center, Lahey said. The President Dennis Murray at press Edward Waters, vice president Thomas Center, will make the reputation in computer applica final details' for the expansion, tions. conference. (Photo by Jeff Kiely) for finance and administration, Center one of the most advanced however; have not been determin said, "Although we offer well ac facilities of its kind in the world," "When (people) think" of small ed. ' ::••'.;.-"•' ~ • pany," Bitanti said. "IBM sup cepted programs in business and Murray said. colleges that lead in the academic IBM Communications Product ports the concept of continuing computer science, Marist expects Richard Linus Foy, Ph.D., use of computers, I want (them) Division President James A. 'education." to remain primarily a liberal arts former president of Marist, and to think of Marist," Murray said. Bitonti, who is also the chairman . According to Lahey, the ap college. With this in mind, my holder of trhe first endowed chair "This equipment grant will allow of Marist's Board Of Trustees, proximately 25,000 people in the people see their job as one of pro in Computer Science at Marist, Marist to attain its goal of becom cited the college's.important rela Mid-Hudson' Valley who are viding the liberal arts faculty with said that in the near future ing a national leader among small tionship with the ideals of IBM as employed by IBM represent the the computing resources they "everyone will have (a personal colleges in using the computer as a reason for the generous gift. - highest concentration of IBM need to explore new avenues for computer) and know how to use an instructional tool." "Continuing education is im employees in the world. He said the transfer of knowledge." it. Within" four years computers The new equipment and soft- portant to the health of the corn- that Marist is a "major resource The new computers, terminals will be like a light switch.'' - CSL withholds Co-ops shrink prof evaluations „ computer staff by Michael T. Regan by Paul Raynis The Computer Center is fin Concerned with the validity of ding it increasingly difficult to the more than 500 instructor meet the needs and. expectations evaluations filled out by students of the Marist user community, ac during finals week last semester, cording to staff members. the Council of Student Leaders In a recent newsletter Cecil had chosen not to release the •Denney, computer center direc results of its questionnaires to the tor, said -that increased demands student body. and a reduction of staff have CSL officers decided against caused some policy changes their original plans to put limited within the center. editions of the results on reserve These policy changes, which at four locations on campus when will mainly affect the ad problems arose in their efforts to ministrative users of the computer get monitors for their evaluation and will have little effect on the desk in Donnelly Hall. students, were designed to allow Without constant monitoring the,center to "be more effective of the filling out of evaluations, with our existing staff levels," the CSL had'no way to insure that said Denney in the newsletter. the forms weren't misused. He also said that "we analyzed "There could be people stuff Trustees and members of the administration listen to President Murray speak about the . our own job performance to ing boxes and things like award. (Photo by Jeff Kiely) determine how to be more pro that, "said James Barnes, College ductive." Union Board president. Barnes Staffing in the center became a added that with the given sen problem when three of the student sitivity that surrounds an evalua employees accepted co-op posi tion of a teacher's effectiveness, Copy center workers dismissed; tions with IBM for this semester. the CSL couldn't risk publishing Frank Degilio, who had provided any evaluation results with the a major part of the technical sup- _ current question of their validity. final exams thought to be stolen port for the center, is working in "What I hope people realize is Kingston on a computer graphics that this is a very tough area, and by Carl MacGowan of security to "too many students from the Copy Center staff. Terry project. Rick Ridgeway, who had that we can't reveal information hanging around." However, Abad, a senior who worked in the provided main line support in ad-. which we feel isn't strong More than a dozen student Doscher said he employed "some Center last summer, was inform ministrative programming, is enough," said Barnes. "You're employees were fired early last real good students" who "bent ed of the new rules two days after working in Fishkill on a tool looking at people's tenure, their month after concern was raised over backwards." - arriving for the intersession. She automation project. And Tom jobs, and all of that. You've just about the security of the Marist Anthony V. Campilii, business said she was told that Marist had Curley, who had given significant got to be careful." College Copy Center. officer, said he wasn't worried done research and found that support to the system staff in the Despite the flaws in the evalua According to Andrew Molloy, about the integrity of student other schools don't employ center, will be working with tion process, the CSL. officers dean of academic affairs, concern employees, but "more perhaps students in their Copy Center. Ridgeway on the tool automation have found patterns in the evalua about a "breakdown of security" the peer pressure of students "I had come back with the no project. tion of certain instructors, and was expressed ^ after the- fall working in an office." The access tion that I would have a 25-hour a The result of these changes is hope to make those patterns semester. There was, said Molloy, to serious information, said Cam-, week job, and I was out of a the-loss of two full-time staff known to the administration, ac "reason to believe final exams pilii, may tempt some students to job," said Abad. positions in the Computer Center. cording to Barnes. had been circulated" before exam take advantage of their position David Kehoe, an administrative "There have been some faults week. '•'"•• "not necessarily for themselves, Doscher now has only a three- programmer, was moved from his in the testing, but we've found Under the new policy, students but for others." person staff, but they have ex position to an assignment internal that a number of teachers were may not be employed by the Copy Campijii said the college con panded their hours to compen to the center. This change placed constantly made reference to, Center or use the center to make tinues to place high value in stu sate.. the burden of administrative pro with consistently .positive or copies of personal documents. A dent employment because of the As for hiring students for the gramming on the shoulders of ' negative evaluations," said copying machine has been placed on-the-job training it provides. "I Copy Center in the future, Cam Chris Renten. Barnes. "We're recommending in Donnelly Hall, adjacent to the don't know of many schools with pilii said, "Anything is possible." • Denney said that with the re that those names be submitted to Commuter Lounge, for student as many students in as many sen Doscher said he would welcome cent grant from IBM, the center the division heads, and that we let use.

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