IHETS recognized with ADEC awards for 2005 hurricane response efforts
Released: May 5, 2006
Contact:
communications@ihets.org
INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS) was honored by the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) May 2 at the 2006 All-ADEC Meeting in Washington, DC for their 2005 hurricane response.
The IHETS organization was recognized as a “barrier buster” for providing the leadership, service, and willingness to make a rapid response possible.
Two long-time IHETS staff—David Cory, state networks senior engineer, and Max Gordon, assistant director of network operations—individually received the same honor.
“Because of the tremendous response from consortium members last year to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, our board combined two awards and created a special, one-time award to recognize their efforts,” explains Dr. Janet Poley, ADEC president.
ADEC’s Irving Award is given annually to members providing leadership and service at the highest level. The Barrier Buster Award recognizes individuals who have broken new ground, putting forth effort and service above and beyond that exhibited by others.
The combined 2006 award, the Irving-Barrier Buster Award, was given to several institutions, organizations, partners, and individuals. Awardees were nominated by faculty, staff, and administrators of ADEC member institutions.
“IHETS was recognized for taking action and assisting southern colleges and universities in need,” Poley says. “It is critically important that we capture their experience and lessons learned so that whenever natural disasters strike we are prepared and can do better in responding.”
Cory and Gordon traveled to several areas in the ravaged Gulf Coast region with IHETS’ mobile satellite-based Internet access unit. They restored telecommunication networks and Internet connectivity for Mississippi and Louisiana higher education institutions and their affiliates.
The mobile unit provides a complete Internet-to-go package, including reliable high-speed broadband service. It’s also capable of handling remote telephone service via IP telephony, real-time two-way video conferencing, and support for peripherals, like laptops and other electrical equipment.
Cory and Gordon led a plenary session on rapid response issues during the hurricane relief effort as part of the May 1–3 conference.
IHETS is an Indiana-based technology and education consortium whose members include 40 public and private higher education institutions. Its mission is enhancing the educational, social, and economic development of Hoosiers through technology.
ADEC is a non-profit distance education consortium composed of approximately 65 state universities and land-grant colleges. The consortium was conceived and developed to promote the creation and provision of high quality, economical distance education programs and services to diverse audiences, by the land grant community of colleges and universities, through the most appropriate information technologies available.
For more information, visit www.ihets.org.
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