Features February 2018

Walking through the green campus of Muhlenberg College, CIO Allan Chen sees students race across the campus from a contemporary dance class to an introduction to neuroscience class. Since joining the liberal arts institution in 2015, Chen has always appreciated the way the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based college encourages students to dictate their path—a mindset it also […]

Insurance ads are everywhere nowadays—on TV, on the radio, in web and print ads—and it seems like new companies are popping up every day, eager to protect people’s homes, cars, businesses and selves, while trying to convince potential clients that they alone are the best, the fastest and the most dedicated to their customers. But […]

A hacker has just released the cryptolocker virus into Schenectady County Community College’s database, and the clock is ticking. If successful, the virus will encrypt all of the institution’s files and hold them for ransom. While it’s never actually happened, this is the type of scenario CIO Antoine Harrison has to prepare for every day. […]

Back in 1882, the year Virginia State University was founded, food production was still very much a binary matter: the more hooves and hands in the field, the bigger and better the yield. By contrast, modern agriculture has—for better or worse—become a question of manufacturing; one with which VSU agronomists have increasingly had to grapple […]

Most university leaders pride themselves on having a diverse student body, but how many schools can count robots in their enrollment? Southern State Community College in Hillsboro, Ohio, can. In fact, it has three. Designed by Suitable Technologies, these Beam telepresence robots allow students, professors and other faculty members to roam the campus grounds, take […]

In the early 1970s, four mothers in Peekskill, New York, grew tired of taking an hour-long bus ride to reach the nearest county hospital. Faced with no alternatives, they decided to build one, and with help from community members and grant funds, they opened the Peekskill Area Ambulatory Health Center in 1975. Now called Hudson […]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker will hold ten jobs before the age of 40. By that definition, Becky Dawley is no average worker. The IT executive has been an employee of Minnesota-based Federated Insurance for four decades—nearly one-third of the 113-year-old company’s existence. “It’s the only job I’ve had since […]

Two years ago, New York City School Support Services didn’t exist. Then, in the middle of 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio handed the maintenance and custodial contracts for the city’s 1,500 schools over to the non-profit start-up. The growing organization would need to expand—and fast, in order to avoid a disruption in its essential services, […]

Jeremy Walczak says the brakes on a car aren’t just for stopping, they’re for letting you accelerate with confidence. His philosophy regarding information security isn’t so different—strong security measures don’t just protect, they let a company aggressively pursue its goals, he says. Walczak is the mechanic tuning up the brakes on Buffalo, New York-based Independent […]

There are 64 schools that make up the State University of New York system (SUNY), and on any given day, creativity and innovation unfurl like undergrads through dorm-hall lobbies—which, when your collective alumni include Natalie Merchant, Harvey Milk and Calvin Klein, might be expected. Nestled just north of Albany, a mere half-mile from its namesake […]