Portland State University Begins Enterprise GIS

18 March 2010, 8:40pm

Redlands, California—March 18, 2010—Portland State University (PSU), a longtime user of ESRI's ArcGIS software, has begun the implementation of ArcGIS Server to provide students, faculty, and administrators with the opportunity to use geographic information system (GIS) technology. ESRI is working with the university in this implementation to optimize its use of server technology.

"I applaud the expansion of GIS use throughout the Portland State campus," says Cy Smith, statewide GIS coordinator in Oregon. "It affords students the opportunity to develop important real-world skills, such as location-based analysis and the practical implementation and maintenance of server-based GIS. These skills are in demand by employers here in Oregon and throughout the country."

With an enterprise GIS, IT directors at PSU anticipate that schools within the university, like the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning and the Northwest Center for Engineering, Science, and Technology, will make greater use of GIS in classes such as environmental science, urban design, sustainability research, and urban and public affairs. In addition, student interns will have the opportunity to gain crucial work experience in the university's IT department by working alongside the professional staff in the implementation and maintenance of its geospatial data servers.

"We see the adoption of Web mapping technology through the use of ArcGIS Server as providing valuable skills to our students and strengthening the university's ability to serve our metropolitan and statewide communities," says Richard Lycan, professor emeritus of geography and urban studies at the university.

Professors at PSU are already planning classes that make use of server technology for digital compilation and database design, Web GIS, public participation and GIS, cartographic applications, and creation of an American history syllabus for the local K–12 school district.

Toni Fisher, higher education manager at ESRI, says, "GIS is a platform for learning. It can be used in any department and provides a new way of thinking and understanding because it not only allows us to analyze data in the context of location but also provides a wealth of tools that help students learn through modeling their knowledge. The implementation of ArcGIS Server at PSU will give students and their professors a unique opportunity for cross-disciplinary research and study."

ESRI's higher education program

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