Stevens receives AT&T Foundation grant to research disaster recovery

Stevens Institute of Technology has received a $50,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation to conduct research in best practices in disaster recovery and business continuity. This effort will focus on the pharmaceutical industry.

Scheduled to be completed by April 2003, the research will explore areas such as strategic planning, security policies, risk assessment and back-up plans and procedures. The results will be publicly available on the AT&T website and shared with pharmaceutical companies nationwide.

Stevens is one of five universities selected to conduct the research; each will focus on a specific industry:

• George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. - financial services;
• Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta - travel and leisure;
• Michigan State University, East Lansing - manufacturing; and
• University of California, Los Angeles - retail.

"Stevens is delighted to be selected to participate in this AT&T research initiative," said Lou Laucirica, Associate Dean of the Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management. "This project illustrates how business and academia can work together to expand business knowledge. We have had a very productive relationship with AT&T over the years, from recruiting, to research, to workforce development, to curriculum development."

"AT&T is pleased to be working with some of the best universities and colleges in America to develop a set of best practices that will assist companies across the country with this important subject matter," said Timothy J. McClimon, Executive Director, AT&T Foundation. "Based on a recent survey that AT&T commissioned, there is a need for businesses to concentrate more attention on issues of business continuity and disaster recovery."

The AT&T survey, which was conducted by Digital Research Inc., showed that about one in four companies in the U.S. do not have business continuity-disaster recovery plans in place. Of those companies that do have plans, about 20% have not tested them in five years. Companies with untested plans face as much risk as those with no plans at all. This best practices research project shows AT&T's commitment to help businesses gain the proper knowledge and tools to continuously operate, even in the event of a disaster or other unplanned business disruption.

Laucirica noted further that Stevens is located near the one of the largest clusters of pharmaceutical world headquarters in America and has developed a close university/industry relationship. In addition to many pharmaceutical-related projects, Stevens offers a graduate degree with a concentration in pharmaceutical information technology.

"Many of the area pharmaceutical firms have been supportive of Stevens' unique and rigorous Bachelor of Science program in Business and Technology, providing a number of undergrad internships," Laucirica said. "AT&T was an inaugural supporter of the Business and Technology program, and through this grant, they will also be a sponsor of Stevens' upcoming Symposium on Cyber Security, Oct. 22-24."

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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