Highlights

2006 - the year of Pace's Centennial Celebration -- coincided with CSIS' first full year as the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. The university celebrated "100 Years of Opportunity" and rededicated itself to the continued realization of its mission; the school, impelled by the generous gift of $15 million from Ivan G. Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, Inc. and Pace alumnus, renewed its efforts to provide opportunity to students interested in studying computing and expanded its reach to recruit "the best and brightest" nationwide.

The year was filled with numerous celebrations and special events as well as significant student and faculty accomplishments. Highlights include:

Events --

  • For the third consecutive year, the Seidenberg School hosted the FIRST LEGO League Robotics Tournament for middle school-aged children. Although this year's event "Ocean Odyssey" had to be rescheduled from February to March due to a severe snow storm, the delay hindered neither attendance nor enthusiasm.
  • Over 300 young women from high schools throughout the metropolitan region attended the "Women in Computing Symposium" held on the downtown campus in March to learn about the exciting and diverse career opportunities available to women in computing. Featured speakers included Pace alumnae Samar Sleiman (BBA/IS '03) and Teresa Ashley (MS/IS '02), members of Professional Women in Corporate America.
  • On a smaller scale, the school hosted a "Technology Day" at the all girls Good Counsel High School in White Plains, NY in October. Faculty discussed and demonstrated their expertise in areas ranging from geographic information systems to robotics.
  • The Pace Computer Learning Center (PCLC) invited Seidenberg alumni/ae in for a "Project Management Test Dive" to introduce them to the skills, tools and techniques of project management. The event was held in April at the Midtown Executive and Chemists' Club in Manhattan .
  • In back-to-back naming receptions on May 8 and 9 on the Pleasantville and New York City campuses, the school celebrated its new identity as the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Ivan G. Seidenberg, after whom the school was named, was in attendance along with his wife Phyllis and daughter Lisa.
  • The Seidenberg School honored Austin A. Adams, CIO, JPMorgan Chase, and invited Ivan G. Seidenberg, its benefactor, to be the guest speaker at this year's Centennial Leadership and Service in Technology Award Reception chaired by Kurt Woetzel, CIO, Bank of New York. The event, held in early June at the Digital Sandbox venue in lower Manhattan, generated nearly $215,000 for Seidenberg School scholarships and new initiatives.
  • Thirty-one outstanding high school students from 12 states participated in the first Seidenberg Scholars Summer Experience in late June on the New York City campus. The program was created to provide an intellectually challenging and distinctly New York experience to this select group of students in an effort to identify and recruit candidates for the Seidenberg Scholars Program scheduled to begin in fall 2007.
  • Back by popular demand, Hal Berghel, PhD, a nationally recognized computer security expert, spoke on "Computer Security, Identity Theft and Phishing" on both the New York City and White Plains campuses in October.
  • In November, the school hosted a panel discussion on "Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation" featuring Kevin Prey, intellectual property specialist; John Hunt, "serial entrepreneur" and president of Oriel Wines; Mark Kay, CEO, StrikeForce Technologies; and the team from Maingear Computers in New York City .
  • Later in the month in Pleasantville, Seidenberg partnered with the Lubin School to present "Business and Technology: Challenges and Opportunities" featuring three top female executives - Marilyn O'Connell, Verizon Communications; Paula Summa, ibm.com; and Marie Toulantis, Barnes&Noble.com
     

Faculty and Students

  • Graduate students enrolled in the Seidenberg School 's MS in Software Development and Engineering program partnered with library professionals from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Library to develop a relational database-driven application to help improve both the quality and quantity of the library's digital scientific and teaching resources.
  • Thirty Seidenberg students had the opportunity to tour IBM's Mainframe Benchmarking Facility in Poughkeepsie, NY that houses multiple supercomputers as well as the IBM Industry Solutions Lab (ISL) in Hawthorne, NY, where they learned about cutting edge technology research in pervasive computing and encryption.
  •  Thomas Achtemichuk (BS/CS '07) was named a finalist in this year's Outstanding Undergraduate Awards competition sponsored by the Computing Research Association (CRA) for demonstrated excellence in computing research ability. The award is considered one of the most prestigious honors an undergraduate computer science student can receive.
  • Jean Coppola, PhD, was honored for her community service initiatives at the Seventh Annual Women's History Month Luncheon - "Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams" - held at Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY in March. 
  • Susan Feather-Gannon, PhD, was re-elected vice president for publications for the Organizational Systems Research Organization (OSRA).
  • James Gabberty, DPS, was named a Fellow of Pace's new Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship established "to promote social change through entrepreneurship."
  • William Sabia (BS/IS '07) and Andrew Harris (BS/MS in CS '09) were among 25 applicants nationwide to be awarded full scholarships to continue their studies in security and information assurance through the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Information Assurance Scholarship Program. This scholarship also provides opportunities for internships and full-time employment with a DoD agency following graduation.
  • Adjunct Professor Stuart Varden, EdD, was appointed to the Board of Regents of the Foundation for Information Technology Education, the research and development arm of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP).
     

Programs and Courses

  • In January, nine students and eight faculty and staff members participated in a travel course to India on Managing Technology Outsourcing to learn first-hand about outsourcing and its impact on the economic development of India .
  • Similarly, another group of thirteen students and nine faculty and staff members traveled to London and Paris at the end of the spring semester to observe how other countries secure their computer networks. This trip was an extension of a course titled International Perspective on Network Security.
  • Christelle Scharff, PhD, and Orlena Gotel, PhD, organized a Student Seminar Series, inviting speakers from business industry and the open source community to speak on a variety of programming-related topics.
  • Beginning spring 2006, employees from the Bank of New York, were given the opportunity to enroll in one of two graduate-level certificate programs in either Security and Information Assurance or in Software Development and Engineering. The courses are taught on site at one of the bank's locations in lower Manhattan during the evening.
  • Effective fall 2006, the curriculum of the MS in Computer Science was revised to meet the needs of today's majors. Prerequisites were eliminated and core requirements collapsed into fewer courses to enable students to pursue concentrations and select more electives. Also new in the fall, was a combined BA in Computer Science/MS in Computer Science that allows qualified students to accelerate their studies and complete both degrees in a reduced timeframe.
  • In fall 2006, the Seidenberg School expanded its Doctor of Professional Studies in Computing program to include a track for education professionals. Seventeen students, including educational administrators, librarians, technology specialists and teachers, enrolled.
  • During 2006, service learning opportunities continued to expand for Seidenberg students and to attract non-majors as well. They included courses involving Web site development for nonprofits, intergenerational computing, and problem-solving using LEGO robotics construction and programming sets. Service learning courses enable Pace students to go out into the larger community to share their newly acquired skills and knowledge.
  • Through partnerships with the Red Hat Academy for Linux training, the Project Management Institute and Adobe, the Pace Computer Learning Center can now offer the highest caliber training in these areas to its corporate clients.
     

Publications

  • The Pace/SkillPROOF IT Index (PSII) Report, initiated by the Seidenberg School and to be published quarterly, was launched in November. The PSII, based on data mined from Fortune 500 company listings in 11 categories, gauges the demand for IT professionals in Manhattan and Westchester County and assists employers, IT professionals, educators and students to stay abreast of the market.
     

Awards, Grants and Gifts

  • The Seidenberg School was awarded the ABET President's Award for Diversity for providing a supportive environment for its diverse student body and for its efforts to encourage young women to pursue careers in computing. ABET is the national organization for the accreditation of computing, engineering, technology and applied science programs.
  • Dean Susan Merritt and Dr. David Sachs, associate dean, were instrumental in obtaining a $250,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in support of new local initiatives focusing on developing partnerships with regional high schools and community colleges, improving recruitment marketing, and developing new and better support systems to enhance student satisfaction.
  • As a centennial gift to the school, Allan Deering, a longstanding friend and advisory board member, and his wife Carol, established the Allan and Carol Deering Endowed Scholarship Fund in the amount of $250,000. These scholarships are to go to worthy undergraduate students in need.
  • Mark Kay, CEO of Strike Force Technologies and Seidenberg School Advisory Board member, gifted his company's unique authentication software - Guarded ID and Protected ID - to the school to be used as instructional tools in classes teaching security and prevention of identity theft.