Release date: Aug. 18, 2003
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark, Assistant Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-712-8780 or bclark2@emory.edu

Emory Sets New Standard for Student Technology Centers

; @campus computer lab of cookie-cutter cubicles and tired word-processing machines may go the way of the typewriter as universities meet the new technology needs of today’s students and faculty.

Emory University’s recently revamped Cox Computing Center is a vision of the future with a sleek, high-tech space designed specifically for faculty/student interaction and dedicated to collaborative academic activity.

Since a majority of today’s students already arrive on campus with their own computers, traditional computer labs are changing to give way to multimedia centers that allow access to technologies the average students do not have on their own, says Donald Harris, Emory’s chief information officer and vice provost for information technology.

The innovative space has created a buzz among students as well as leaders from other universities, according to Harris. Before constructing the lab, Emory consulted with other schools, such as the University of Chicago, Georgia Institute of Technology and Northwestern University, to see what changes they were making. Emory ultimately created its lab from scratch, incorporating ideas from across the nation, Harris says.

"The center is the only one of its kind in the country. The space is completely dedicated to collaborative computing, which we see as an emerging trend that will continue to grow," Harris says. "Visitors from other research universities have been blown away by it."

The former center was gutted, then expanded and redesigned by Emory’s Information Technology and Facilities Management divisions to set a new standard for student technology labs. The true heart of the center is its state-of-the-art multimedia equipment. The showpieces are several wide plasma touch-screens that can display DVDs, be used as computer monitors for presentations, or serve as electronic white boards that can be written on and the material then printed.

The lab has a Dell computer area with 21 machines, a Macintosh area with a dozen powerful G-4s, and an "iMac bar" for more casual computing needs like checking e-mail, also with a dozen machines. The center also has available 40 laptop computers that can be checked out by students. All the computers are the latest available models, with large flat-screen monitors for multimedia work. Students have access to scanners, CD burners and digital movie-making capabilities.

The spacious center is sleek and contemporary, with purple carpet, hardwood floors, artsy low-lighting and ultra-modern furnishings and partition walls—some that serve as dry-erase boards—that can be moved around to fit changing needs.

"Our old lab was focused on individuals sitting at individual machines," Harris says. "This space is all about collaboration and interactive technology, which has allowed faculty to expand what they can do with these new resources and allowed students to be more creative in their assignments."

The center also offers a fully equipped conference room and two classrooms with projection screens. A lobby space will be used to showcase new, cutting-edge technologies for students as soon as they become available. The front area of the center, once a hallway, has been opened up to serve as a lounge, with plush, coffeehouse-style seating and large, bright windows. There, students can work on wireless laptops or just hang out. There also is a cafe and gallery space in the back that features student artwork.

Back