Striving For An A+ Workforce

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Goodwin and Roe countered the resistance by arranging conversations between college presidents and the businesspeople who they hope will hire their graduates. Academic ears listened as the private sector described its needs, and academic eyes began to open.

But even after everyone was on board, considerable assembly was still required. "At the beginning I was very concerned about the notion of coordinating many institutions," says Jo Roth, vice-president of student, faculty, and staff services at the Community College of Aurora. "It involved coordinating computer systems, registration, admissions, financial aid, and advising. But everyone was willing to be flexible, and we all made it happen."

Perhaps the most ambitious piece of Roe and Goodwin's vision -- a distance-learning program that aims to revitalize Colorado's most ailing towns -- is becoming a reality, thanks to HEAT's Convergent Technologies Innovations Laboratory, or CTIL. Funded with $11 million from Lucent and $9 million from the state, CTIL is a national showcase for data-networking, Internet, and video-communications technologies that resides deep in the heart of HEAT's campus. Yet, because of it, learning is happening in distant Julesburg, a town of 1,300 souls near the Nebraska border, a three-hour drive from the Center.

Agriculture's declining fortunes have taken their toll on Julesburg, whose residents have for generations earned their livelihood raising wheat, beef cattle, alfalfa, corn, and sugar beets. And although the construction of a prison nearby created some new, albeit unglamorous, jobs, "young people don't really like to stay here," says Murl Abts, who runs a combination pharmacy and gift-and-flower shop in town.

But Julesburg -- and towns like it -- are now poised to become HEAT outposts. CTIL has taken over a century-old building in Julesburg -- a onetime national bank turned clothing store turned beauty parlor. The Center is transforming the building into the Sedgwick County Rural Technology Academy, using funds provided by Lucent and the state. When the renovation is complete and fiber-optic wiring is installed, local students will be able to take distance-learning courses in the former bank.

A handful of local high school students offer residents a preview of what to expect. Having recently traveled to the HEAT campus for courses in Web development, the students are now back in Julesburg and building a 3-D version of their hometown online. Soon visitors from around the world will be able to take a mouse-driven tour of Julesburg's streets, browse its antiques and clothing stores, and buy from its merchants, wielding credit cards over secure Web sites.

"I compare bringing high-speed technology to rural America to bringing electricity to rural America," says Gary K. Lancaster, chairman of the Sedgwick County Technology Board, which is helping to oversee development of the Rural Technology Academy. He expects that townspeople will be able to hatch home-based businesses after high-speed Internet lines have been installed. And the town hopes to attract small businesses with its newly trained high-tech labor pool and its high-quality, affordable education program.

In addition to providing basic computer skills, the Rural Technology Academy will foster continuing education for professionals in this remote location. For example, Lancaster envisions being able to invite local veterinarians to the Academy to watch Internet broadcasts of surgeries performed at Colorado State University's Veterinary College. "Being a spoke on HEAT's hub will save taxpayer dollars, since we won't have to equip the schools with labs," says resident Abts. "Everyone in town thinks this is a great thing."

The wiring of Julesburg is just the opening move in a grand strategy that should ultimately encompass the entire state. Back at the HEAT Center, Lucent's Mann -- a fast-talking fellow who plays military board games for relaxation -- explains how CTIL will wire towns in every county in the state with high-speed cable, linking them to HEAT and to one another. "We want to take what we've learned at HEAT and push it into businesses, schools, and towns all over the state," says Mann, who projects that 73 towns will be wired by June 2002, serving as "endpoints" that will connect multiple other towns.

Although such educational partnerships may ultimately prove lucrative for corporate participants, HEAT itself needs to find a way to make money. Not that the organization has spent much. It now employs just 60 people, and most of its functions are outsourced.

Nonetheless, HEAT still has to wean itself from state funds. "The governor would prefer to see private funding take over the bulk of the expenditure," says Alan Philp, special assistant to the governor. "His feeling is that since the private sector reaps the benefits, they should really be paying for it." The plan calls for HEAT to be self-supporting and profitable by 2008; the state and Lucent have agreed to fund it until then.

In addition to Lucent and Cisco, a number of private-sector players have come to the organization's aid. Such corporations as U.S. West, PictureTel, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed-Martin, and Raytheon are contributing equipment. And some smaller companies have donated equipment and business expertise. To keep the support faucet running, HEAT will have to continue to market itself to the business world. Despite its early success, that won't be easy. And since precious little money has been earmarked for marketing, HEAT remains little known, even in Colorado. "Marketing and sales is a new ball game for higher education," says Roe.

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