By Brad Atzinger
At a press conference Wednesday, University of Louisville administrators and Brown-Forman executives announced a program that would fund the technological needs of Louisville’s non-profit organizations.
Brown-Forman will donate $356,000 for a U of L center that will provide local charities with information technology services.
“This is a partnership that, over time, will really make a difference in our community,” said Brown-Forman CEO Paul Varga.
The center, to be run by the U of L College of Business, will rely on Computer Information Systems students and faculty to supply Louisville non-profits with “back-room support,” according to Varga.
“Not-for-profits all have one thing in common,” said College of Business Dean Dr. Charlie Moyer, “tight budgets.” The university release states that the center will try to aid the non-profit organizations which currently have, “piecemeal technology that doesn’t adequately serve their needs.”
“We try to be entrepreneurial in all we do,” said Moyer. “And this is just one of those things.”
The partnership announcement came amid a flurry of good news for the College of Business, including the release of two national rankings that include the school.
“It’s been a great week for us at the College of Business,” said Moyer. The school’s Entrepreneurship program was rated among the top in the nation by Fortune Small Business magazine and the U.S. News and World Report.
The center is set to be housed in the Brown Theatre at the ArtSpace facility, which serves as office space for Louisville arts organizations.
According to the university, the IT program will be operational by January 2008.
