Core network
switch
Bell Enrichment Fund Supports Network Upgrade
Widespread wireless access, improved Internet connection and increased reliability are among the benefits to the Erskine campus computer network resulting from recently completed work on the system. Described as "a major upgrade" by Director of Information Technology Bobby Clarke, the project was made possible by the Bell Enrichment Fund, established by a gift from the late Dr. Charles M. Bell and his wife, the late Mrs. Edna Schulte Bell.
A push to power up the campus network from 10 Mb/s to 1,000 Mb/s (10 to 1,000 megabits per second) was begun a few years ago, and the rest was done this year. Erskine's latest technological advance includes "a major upgrade to our core network switch as well as equipment placed in other campus buildings," Clarke said.
"The buildings brought up to the 1,000-megabit-per-second level this year were the Galloway Physical Activities Center, Carnegie Dormitory and Robinson Dormitory," he said.
Most other campus buildings were included in the first round of improvements a few years ago, Clarke noted, and Watkins Student Center will be upgraded once necessary wiring is in place there.
Clarke said Erskine Seminary will also realize gains from the project. "Bowie Divinity Hall and McQuiston Hall on the seminary campus will benefit from the improvement, pending some wiring upgrades in the buildings," he said.
Clarke expects that Erskine students coming to the campus for the fall term will notice the school's improved technology, especially with more students opting for laptop computers.
"Most laptop computers come with wireless network adapters in them now," he said. "By upgrading the network equipment, we can increase wireless access in a secure way that wasn't possible before. Students will be able to surf the 'net from their laptops while sitting out in the mall area or around the circle."
Another technological change that might be noticed this fall concerns Internet access. Erskine will now be able to take better advantage of its Internet service, which is provided through both West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative and AT&T.
"We haven't really been able to utilize the AT&T connection for full benefit," Clarke explained. "The new core switch will allow us to direct more traffic through the AT&T connection and thereby relieve congestion on the West Carolina connection.
"This means that during times when the Internet connection is being heavily used, our campus Web and e-mail servers will still be easily accessible to people in other places," Clarke said. "It will be easier to manage the network now."
The Bell Enrichment Fund is part of a large gift to Erskine that began in 1989 with the Charles M. Bell Trust, which started with 60,000 shares of Chester Telephone Company stock. Through splits and an additional gift, the number of shares increased to more than 250,000, and these shares were passed on to Erskine College and Seminary in 1999 upon the death of Edna Bell, whose husband, a major shareholder and officer of the company, had died in 1990. The $7.5 million gift was the second largest in Erskine's history and increased the school's endowment at that time by more than 25 percent.
The Bells were members of the Chester Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and were especially interested in young people, according to Dr. Dwight Pearson, now retired, who served as their pastor.
In addition to the Bell Enrichment Fund, which has been used for a number of campus improvements, the Bells' generous gift has endowed the John Montgomery Bell Chair in Biblical Studies at Erskine Seminary (formerly held by the late Dr. William H.F. Kuykendall) and the Daniel Stinson Bell Scholarship Fund, which assists Erskine College and Seminary students each year.
