Published: September 26, 2008 01:12 pm         

Computers

McTaggart gift to outfit new lab

Hats off to the McTaggart Charitable Trust on its recent $46,000 gift to outfit a new network computer lab for Ivy Tech Community College.

Julie Byrd, computer information systems program chair for the Logansport campus, announced the grant last week.

Her goal is to establish a mock company that needs a network installed. The new computers will come in pieces, and students will have to build them from scratch, along with installing programs and equipment common in the workforce. Every semester, students will tear down and rebuild the network numerous times.

The goal is to have the new equipment in place for the spring semester. An open house for local officials and students is in the planning stages.

This is the second year the college has obtained such a grant. Last year, the trust awarded $53,000 for a general lab that is now equipped with all new computers, a 60-inch plasma screen used like an electronic blackboard and new workstations.

In recognition of the trust’s generosity, the computer lab at the new Ivy Tech campus will be called the McTaggart Network Center. That campus is now under construction, with completion scheduled for late next year.

The Ivy Tech campus is a wonderful asset for the Logansport community, and with support from organizations such as the McTaggart Charitable Trust, it is becoming a greater asset all the time.