Griffin Hall has only been open for a few weeks, but already it is being heralded as one of the biggest business catalysts in the region. Could it be the next big business magnet for Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky?
"I think it will be the nucleus around which businesses and jobs will cluster," says Rich Boehne, president and CEO of the E.W. Scripps Co., a major contributor to the project. "Like Cincinnati Children's drove the development of medical technology and Procter & Gamble has made us a consumer branding hub, the College of Informatics will drive the growth of technology business in our region.
"It adds another tool in our box that wasn't here before. It attracts talent and entrepreneurs and that attracts capital and creates jobs."
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College of Informatics, one of only a few in the nation, has been part of the Northern Kentucky University campus since 2005, but it located this fall in the new $53 million Griffin Hall. While the gleaming building has been acclaimed for its cutting edge technology, such as a two-story wall comprised of 285 individual digital screens that can display a variety of images simultaneously, or its hundreds of thousands of feet of cable for data, coaxial and fiber optics, the real fanfare will begin as its graduates make their way into the economy.
"The school fits squarely in the middle of the fastest growing businesses in the world," says Boehne, whose company is one of many in the area that is continually pursuing new ways to harness technology for its customers. "This is where the heat is."
Bob Griffin, president of Griffin Industries based in Cold Spring, which turns animal and bakery byproducts into fuels and other necessities, contributed $6 million toward the new college. Griffin Hall is named for the family and their business.
Griffin says that due to the pressing need for individuals skilled in informatics, the new college will create many opportunities.
"Graduates with a degree in informatics are in great demand," says Griffin. "Currently, here at Griffin Industries, we are working with NKU on the development of internships in several fields of informatics, including business, IT, and communication. The creation of job opportunities will be the biggest boost to our region without a doubt."
As one of the few programs of its kind, the College of Informatics offers students a chance to learn the technical and the creative, the content and the human element of communication all under one roof. The school includes the departments of computer science, communication and business informatics, along with NKU's Center of Applied Informatics, which provides students with access to internships, cooperatives and experiential learning in a real-world environment.
"This collaboration forms the building blocks of student academic success and business innovation both locally and worldwide," says James Vortuba, NKU president. "At any given time, our students, faculty and staff are engaging in a variety of applied research projects composed of the communicative, technical and creative elements that are informatics."
Scott Gygi, senior vice president of inbound operations at Fidelity Investments in Northern Kentucky, a firm supporter of the program, had this to say: "The NKU Informatics program is a powerful catalyst in creating an environment of multiple disciplined synergy. The unique blend of learning and innovation will accelerate collaboration among all community stakeholders, ushering in a new paradigm of vision to action."
In addition to Griffin Hall's leadership in technology, it is also a leader in sustainability. The building is NKU's first LEED certified structure, and features an Intelligent Building System, meaning the university can collect data on electricity and water use, which the public can monitor via a website.
Since its creation six years ago, enrollment in the NKU College of Informatics has nearly doubled, from 1,113 at its founding to 1,955 today. The college offers bachelors degrees in business informatics, communication studies, computer information technology, computer science, electronic media and broadcasting, journalism, media informatics and public relations. It offers masters degrees in business informatics, communication studies, computer information technology, computer science and health informatics. It also offers certificates in secure software engineering, corporate information security, geographical information systems and enterprise resource planning.
The college is an investment in our region's future that is certain to see a big payoff, says Boehne.
"They've made a bet in an area of learning that is still emerging," he says. "It will be one of the big factors in the future of our economy. It's a good move."
Photos:
Bi-Koto, a West African Talking Drum group, illustrates the power of communication. Author James Gleick explores "Drums That Talk" in the first chapter of his book The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood (Pantheon, 2011). For many centuries, African talking drums enabled villages to communicate at high bandwidth across vast distances. Communities speaking Bantu languages such as Kele used the drums to capture the essential rhythms and tones of their language, elaborating it with extra phrasing, employing what in the mid-twentieth century would be re-invented under the name "error-correcting code". This key piece of information technology has become an essential building block of our digital world.
Surrounded by students and supporters, local dignitaries lead by NKU President Jim Votruba cut the cable for the opening of NKU's Griffin Hall, College of Informatics.
The Scripps News Laboratory at Griffin Hall, NKU College of Informatics.
Kevin Kirby, Interim Dean of the College of Informatics, speaks on a video screen in the Digitorium during the Griffin Hall open house
Macy's Digital Media Lab at Griffin Hall, NKU College of Informatics.