Established in 1996 as one of two colleges within the University of Nebraska Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI), the College of IS&T (along with the College of Engineering & Technology) is helping the University of Nebraska gain national stature in the area of information technology. PKI is recognized as a path-breaking model for information technology education.
The college offers five undergraduate degree programs and four graduate degree programs. These are: BS and MS in Computer Science, BS in Bioinformatics, BS in IT Innovation, BS in Information Assurance, BS and MS in Management Information Systems, MS and PhD in Bioinformatics (joint programs with UNMC), and a PhD in Information Technology.
As a representative of the IS&T Advisory Board, Dr. Lynne Baldwin, President of BHMI, addressed the graduates and the audience. She explained the official role of the IS&T Advisory Board is to provide a bridge between the college community (faculty, staff, students) and the community at large (alumni, friends, businesses, nonprofits, government and foundations) to shape the exciting future of the College of IS&T.
The IS&T Advisory Board is comprised of a diverse group of companies located in the Omaha metropolitan area. Each company has a senior executive serving on this board. Whether the company provides transportation, public relations, software development and consulting services for other companies, creates and sells food products, manages financial and banking services, irrigates farm lands, or works with the federal government, they all have one thing in common…they all need employees with the core competencies taught by the College of IS&T.
Lynne explained that the members of the Advisory Board work in two directions. First, they advise the college about those skills and knowledge bases that are most needed. Second, they listen to the ideas the college has for new curricula and degree programs – board members are always willing to lend support and help to make things happen.
The Advisory Board member companies both compete with and support one another. They compete with each other when hiring from the available talent pool. They support each other by encouraging more students to become serious about a career in technology. One way that they do this is by offering students augmentation experiences such as scholarships, internships, mentoring programs and summer workshops. The members of the board firmly believe that if students are given an opportunity to see what an organization does, the students will want to play a role in helping that organization accomplish its goals.
BHMI celebrates the achievement of this fine graduating class. Getting a college education is a lot of hard work and involves a level of personal sacrifice. BHMI’s staff applauds all of the graduates for “staying the course” and wishes them all the best in their future careers in technology.
