A portion of the Student Tech Fee   — $175,800  — funded recent renovations of Middleton Library’s computer lab 241, according to Faye Phillips, associate dean of libraries.
Information Technology Services replaced 10 Macintosh computers and 144 four-year-old PCs in the lab. Sheri Thompson, IT Communications & Planning officer, said these computers have seen heavy use. She said ITS replaces them periodically with the best equipment according to the money provided.
“The old machines, Dell Optiplex 745, are being replaced with faster and more reliable computers, Dell Optiplex 790,” said Michael Smith, director of technical services.
The new machines have Core i7 processors, four gigabytes of random access memory and 500-GB hard drives, Smith said.
“We try to keep up-to-date with state-of-the-art technology so that our students have the best resources available to succeed,” Phillips said.
According to Smith, the old computers aren’t wasted after they’re removed. He said they are being relocated to various departments on campus. Departments submit bids for the computers, and the requests are filled based on how many computers are available.
ITS also replaced 81 computers in Patrick F. Taylor Hall during the summer, Smith said. The computers are a slightly older model than the Middleton computers because Dell released the Optiplex 790 after Patrick F. Taylor received its computers.
Faculty will also notice better performance while using computers to teach in some classrooms. Over the summer, 80 classrooms received new computers, which are located in the lecterns often used to supplement lectures with slideshows.
 
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Contact Joshua Bergeron at [email protected]