Higher education's new corporate trend

(Westchester - WABC, October 26, 2006) (WABC) -- A new trend in being seen in higher education.

Big business spending big bucks to influence what's taught in college classes.

Eyewitness News education reporter Art McFarland has the story.

Matt Ganis is teaching computer programming at Pace University in Pleasantville.

But he's not paid by the university.

He's an IBM employee, brought in to give this lecture as part of a worldwide, $100 million IBM program to shape college curricula in information technology.

Why do this?

"We can get access to students that already have the technical skills," IBM Vice President Irving Wladawsky-Berger said. "And even more important, our clients, who are eventually the ones who are going to be implementing all those solutions, can get enough skills to do what they need to do."

A White Plains software firm called Link Technology Group benefits from Pace University interns in the program.

"They're knowledgeable about the software technologies that we use in building modern business applications," said Jeff Gironda, of Link Technology. "They've been able to hit the ground running, so to speak."

"When you have the guest lecturer come in, then you kind of see where it goes and what you can do with the knowledge you have and how it applies to business," Pace student Michael Byrnes said.

IBM has invested more than a quarter of a million dollars at Pace, for hardware, software, faculty training and student field trips to IBM research labs.

But critics say businesses should not have such influence.

New America Foundation's Jennifer Washburn writes on the subject.

"We really depend on our institutions of higher education to be independent institutions that train students to be very versatile and creative in their thinking," Washburn said. "We don't turn our institutions into corporate training grounds."

At Pace, the relationship is described as a partnership.

"Our faculty are in charge," Dean Susan Merritt said. "Our faculty choose how and where to integrate the IBM software and hardware into the curriculum."

And it's likely this trend will grow. IBM now plans to expand its initiative into high schools.

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