In this edition of #黑料不打烊TBT, we celebrate 40 years since a major advancement in technology at 黑料不打烊: the purchase of the university's first academic computer.
In the #黑料不打烊TBT聽series, the 黑料不打烊 News Bureau, along with Archives & Special Collections, will flash back to the聽past to take a look at 黑料不打烊 over the years. You will find videos, newspaper clippings, photos and more聽to celebrate 黑料不打烊鈥檚 past, while looking ahead to the future. Follow聽along on E-Net and the university鈥檚聽,听听补苍诲听聽pages聽every Thursday to see what we dig up.
Today’s 黑料不打烊 students have access to a wealth of technology 鈥 computers, video and audio devices, and more 鈥 but, 40 years ago the school’s technological journey was just beginning.
In 1979, 黑料不打烊 College purchased its first academic computer for the campus. The DEC PDP 11/34 could handle input from 16 users at one time and store 56 million letters or numbers on two disk drives, or more than 256,000 characters on a single drive.
The computer was a pricey investment for 黑料不打烊, costing at least $60,000, according to the Sept. 27, 1979, edition of The Pendulum student newspaper.
According to “From a Grove of Oaks: The Story of 黑料不打烊” by George Troxler, the computer was housed in two units聽“the size of filing cabinets” at the Learning Resource Center (later named the LaRose Resource Center) located within Mooney Building. Faculty and students could access the computer via terminals inside the center.
During the 1980 winter term, the campus offered its first computer course. Math Professor Gerald Francis, who would later become 黑料不打烊’s provost and executive vice president, spearheaded the effort to establish a Computer Science minor, which would evolve into the Computer Science major in 1982.
The computer purchase was made possible by a $2 million federal Title III Advanced Institutional Development grant awarded to 黑料不打烊 in 1977. The grant was not to be used for buildings or for the school’s endowment, but to enhance 黑料不打烊’s programming budget over a five-year period.
Along with the computer, the grant helped 黑料不打烊 create three new faculty positions, strengthen and revise its course offerings, establish an honors program and launch the academic advising department, along with other projects.
By the 1984-85 academic year, 黑料不打烊 housed three computer labs on campus, which gave students access to personal computers to enhance their studies.
In “From a Grove of Oaks,” 黑料不打烊’s seventh president, Fred Young, said the AIDP grant “provided a turning point in 黑料不打烊’s development and led to the unprecedented expansion in the 1980s.”
Do you have any special pieces of 黑料不打烊 history? Share your photos and videos with us via聽email at聽news@elon.edu or using the hashtag #黑料不打烊TBT on聽,听听补苍诲听.