AT&T Foundation Grant Will Connect Graduate Students with Latest Technology

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Graduate students in the new Willard J. Walker Hall at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas will have access to the very latest in communications technology, thanks to a grant from the AT&T Foundation. The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of AT&T Inc., will provide a grant of $250,000 to support the installation of communications technology in the graduate study classroom.

In August 2005, the Walton College of Business began construction of Walker Hall, a new building that will house the Graduate School of Business and several research centers.

“This generous gift from the AT&T Foundation will help make Walker Hall one of the most modern school buildings in the nation,” said Walton College Dean Dan L. Worrell. “The equipment in the AT&T master case-study classroom will serve as a vital link in the structurally integrated, high-tech connections throughout Walker Hall, greatly enhancing our students’ learning environment. They, for instance, will be able to pull real-time transmissions into the study room from the financial trading room, also located in Walker Hall.”

The AT&T Foundation also made a $20,000 gift for a state-of-the-art podium to be installed at the school's Genesis Technology Incubator. This will be used to advance the outreach mission of the business college through its Small Business Development Center.

Ed Drilling, president of AT&T Arkansas, said, “Communications technology offers tremendous opportunities for today’s students, and that’s why the AT&T Foundation devotes so much of its resources to supporting programs that enhance community access to technology and information-sharing. Last year our company, foundation and employees made contributions valued at nearly $1 million to Arkansas nonprofits, local governments and community causes. We trace our Arkansas business roots back more than 125 years, and it’s exciting to know that this grant will help prepare another generation of students for the new century.”

Cathy Foraker, director of AT&T External Affairs, also recognized state Sen. Sue Madison of Fayetteville for her commitment to supporting the University of Arkansas as well as numerous other organizations that deliver community programs in northwestern Arkansas.

Madison said, “I am proud to represent a community that is home to the University of Arkansas and the Walton College and that recognizes the value of technology in the classroom. I will continue to work for collaboration between industry and public institutions to bring still more services to this campus and to all of my constituents.”

The design of the 42- by 41-foot master study classroom is based on the graduate classrooms at Harvard University and will serve up to 75 students. The equipment will provide high-quality videoconferencing capabilities that will allow graduate students to communicate with others across the state, nation or world. Part-time graduate students will be able to “attend class” through distance education made possible with this equipment, allowing them to pursue a graduate degree while living hundreds of miles from campus.

Equipment to control transmissions into and out of the classroom will be housed in an adjacent 40-square-foot production booth, or audio/video closet, dedicated to the graduate case- study classroom. This equipment will include a control panel, monitors and recording equipment. A podium in the classroom will serve as a central routing location from which the instructor can control projectors, screens, cameras, volume, the audio/video CODEC, and the room’s lighting and shades.

The layout of the AT&T master case-study classroom in a modular, horseshoe pattern will optimize student learning. Students will have the best possible sight lines from every seat with high-visibility whiteboards, smaller side agenda boards, raised terrace seating and customized three-setting lighting.

Accessibility is built in so lifts are not required, and ramps are integrated into the building pathways. The room is planned to be future-proof with extra conduits and solid-wood platforms that can be updated for future classroom demands with minimal interruptions for infrastructure modifications.

In 2003, the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation pledged a lead gift of $8 million for the construction of Walker Hall. The building was named for the late Willard Walker, in honor of his success in retail management with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. In addition to the graduate study room, the building will showcase other technology-enhanced teaching classrooms and learning spaces, student team rooms, project rooms for industry partnering, a financial markets trading room and two research centers. The research centers will serve as a conduit for connecting students with activities that engage the business community. Walker Hall is being designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates Inc. of Boston and Allison Architects Inc. of Little Rock. The building is expected to be completed with the opening of classes in the fall of 2007.

The new AT&T Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AT&T Inc., supports programs that build communities and improve access to information technologies, technology training and professional skills development. The new AT&T Foundation will provide more than $60 million in 2006 in charitable contributions, thereby placing it among the top five largest corporate foundations in the country. The new AT&T Foundation combines more than 40 years and $1.7 billion of philanthropic commitment to communities across the country.

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AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high-speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with more than 54 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.TheNewATT.com.

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