February 2005

CAMPUS NEWS

Kogod Announces Integration of RSS and BlackBerry Technology

The Kogod School of Business announced last month it will provide 300 graduate students and faculty with a new BlackBerry 7100t phone from T-Mobile USA, along with wireless broadband service. Those admitted for the fall 2005 semester will receive the technology for free, making Kogod the first business school in the world to provide the combination for its students and faculty.

The BlackBerry handheld systems will have a Rich Site Syndication (RSS) reader, which allows users to access streams from the Web including coursework, job listings, graduate admissions information, and other internal information. The new RSS technology, defined by Kogod as “Real Simple Streaming,” is being integrated onto many news-oriented Web sites such as WashingtonPost.com, NYTimes.com, and NPR.org. However, Kogod is the first business school in the country to utilize it for the advancement of academic and operational processes. Additional streams will be launched during the Spring 2005 semester to give students the latest information to enhance their business skills and knowledge of current technology on the market. Kogod plans to integrate the new technology throughout the entire school eventually, adding text messaging and T-Mobile HotSpot wireless broadband service by fall 2005.

During a January 25 press conference, AU officials distributed 50 BlackBerrys to select faculty, staff, and a few pleasantly surprised current graduate students. T-Mobile has pledged 250 of the devices and six months of free wireless broadband service to incoming graduate students as soon as they are admitted and pay their tuition deposit, Kogod’s Director of Marketing and Communication Robert Ransom said.

This new technological leap is part of AU's many recent infrastructure changes. Kogod is rated one of the best business schools in the country, and American University’s campus has been named one of the top 10 wireless campuses across the country. By integrating the two, Kogod acting Dean William DeLone hopes to create a "Kogod Edge," which is more modern and technologically driven.

“We’ve created a new identity for the Kogod School of Business,” DeLone said. “That new identity is Kogod@AU, the HotSpot for Business Education.”

For more information, visit http://www.kogod.american.edu/Home.cfm?AudienceID=8

-Ashley Ferrell ‘07

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