NOW, Volume 59, Number 1, Spring 2004 Page: 2
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: LeTourneau University Archives and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the LeTourneau University Margaret Estes Library.
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A Message From The President
rom its earliest days, LeTourneau University has been
about technology, and it remains committed to leadership
in the field of technological education.
We are proud of our programs in engineering,
engineering technology, computer science and
aeronautical science, as well as how we integrate
technology into the learning environment on campus.
These flagship programs, coupled with our strong and
growing programs in the biological sciences, have
paved the way for our entrance as the first Christian
university in the world to have a program in biomedical
engineering. We are proud of that distinction.
The infusion of technology into our daily lives is
a reality that we all face. Most of us know people whose lives have
been impacted by new medical technologies from heart pacemakers to
artificial hips. As the baby boomer generation ages, the call for more
medical technology will only increase as people live longer lives.
Virtually no one on the campus is untouched by the advances in
technology over the recent years. It brings information instantly to our
fingertips, as well as new methods of communication, decision-making,
learning, doing. Students, faculty, parents, staff, external entities like
accrediting bodies and government departments are all demanding
more and more, faster and faster.
Administrative management systems are developed that promise to
make life easier but fail to do so after expending millions to implement.
DR. ALVIN O. AUSTIN Then, when they fail, the companies disappear and merge, offering
President other products at new and higher costs than those that they abandoned.
We have added bandwidth connectivity at a rapid pace only to see it
literally gobbled up by the voracious appetite of a technologically savvy
student body and campus.
How to meet the demands for hardware, software, connectivity and personnel to support these is one of the
biggest challenges facing all universities. There are days when we feel we should just commit the entire university
budget to this area of need, then we still might not meet expectations.
We have great leadership in this area as we follow our Technology Master Plan that guides our buying and
using technology campuswide.
We are proud of our investment in technology and our state-of-the-art Cisco IP telephone system that links our
campus telephones and computers together seamlessly. Our continued commitment to a cycle of replacing almost
all personal computers every three years helps keep us up to date. Every residence hall has computer accessibility,
and we have two wireless hubs on campus, one at our Margaret Estes Library and the other at our Glaske Center
for Engineering, Technology and Science, and more are to come.
Our PACT education certificate program is primarily delivered online, except for one Saturday class session
per month. Online courses are now delivered to students all over the world, and beginning next fall, we will offer a
LeTourneau MBA degree online.
Technology is an elusive thing. It is a bane and a blessing, a pain and a pleasure. What's hot today is cold
tomorrow. It is one of those indispensable advances in our culture that has brought significant enrichment to all of
our lives, but requires us to be adaptable to constant change as technology continues to improve at a rapid rate.
But the future is in technology, and we can't shrink from the investment in technological improvements because of
the fear of obsolescence.
While we continue to see great advances in other curricular areas of our campus and, unlike in some prior years,
we are truly proud of the great quality and growing diversity of those programs, we remain committed to being a leader
in technological education. At no time in our history have we had better programs, better faculty, better equipment and
better students in the various fields of technology than we have at LeTourneau University today. ULETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY SPRING 2004
2 DR. AUSTIN
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LeTourneau University. NOW, Volume 59, Number 1, Spring 2004, periodical, 2004-Spring; Longview, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1527398/m1/2/?q=green+energy: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting LeTourneau University Margaret Estes Library.