Arizona Western benefited from collaboration at its best in this technology ramp-up. AN-MSI and HACU partnered with the Network Resource Startup Center, another NSF-funded project at the University of Oregon, to perform the network analysis. After receiving the assessment and recommendations, the college chose Cisco Systems to implement a solution.

"The AN-MSI project provided AWC with a team of highly trained network professionals who offered the technical assistance necessary to make our college network state-of-the-art and move Arizona Western closer to being the hub of technology in southwestern Arizona," said Tim Shove, vice president of information technology for Arizona Western. "We could not have achieved these results without this type of specialized assistance from both AN-MSI and Cisco Systems."

AN-MSI Project Director David Staudt declared, “What Arizona Western has achieved in the Southwest shows that nonprofit collaboration, technology expertise, and public funds can help minority-serving institutions anywhere in the country develop the campus infrastructure and national connections to become full participants in the Information Age.”

“This kind of partnership with our Hispanic-serving institutions and other minority-serving institutions is critical if we are to bridge the ‘digital divide’ and bring the benefits of technology and of education to everyone,” said Antonio R. Flores, president and CEO of HACU. With 335 member and partner higher education institutions, including Arizona Western College, HACU is the only nationally organized voice for Hispanic-serving institutions.

Describing the corporate commitment to the project, Maciej Kranz, director of marketing for Cisco System’s Desktop Switching Business Unit, said, “Cisco’s goal is to provide our education customers with simple and affordable ways to build secure and highly available networks that enable productivity gains and enhance learning experience. By choosing Cisco end-to-end intelligent network infrastructure, Arizona Western College is meeting its goal of managing and delivering powerful educational content to a broader audience through advanced, multimedia applications.”

Working with HACU and other associations, AN-MSI continues to work with minority-serving institutions that need help in leveraging technology to advance their missions. Visit AN-MSI at http://www.anmsi.org/.

About EDUCAUSE
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 1,900 colleges, universities, and education organizations, including more than 180 corporations. EDUCAUSE has offices in Boulder, CO, and Washington, D.C. See http://www.educause.edu/.

About AN-MSI
Advanced Networking with Minority-Serving Institutions administers a four-year, $6 million National Science Foundation grant to EDUCAUSE to work with minority-serving institutions in improving Internet connectivity, campus networks, network technical support, training, and advanced use of the Internet for teaching and research. The minority-serving institutions are composed of Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and historically black colleges and universities. EDUCAUSE works closely with the associations representing the minority communities: the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO). Roughly one-third of the more than 100 institutions initially involved are from each community. See http://www.anmsi.org/.

About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) is the only nationally organized voice for Hispanic-serving institutions, representing more than 300 colleges and universities that collectively educate three-fourths of the Hispanics in higher education in the United States. The HACU mission is to promote the development of member colleges and universities; to improve access to and the quality of post-secondary educational opportunities for Hispanic students; and to meet the needs of business, industry, and government through the development and sharing of resources, information, and expertise. See http://www.hacu.net/.

About Arizona Western College
Arizona Western College is a two-year community college accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges. Located in the southwest corner of Arizona, Arizona Western College offers educational, career, and lifelong learning opportunities each year to more than 10,000 students in Yuma and La Paz counties. See http://www.azwestern.edu/.

About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, An EDUCAUSE Bronze Partner, is a leading provider of networking services and solutions for the Internet. See http://www.cisco.com/.