Intellicom celebrates milestone with UNK partnership
ABOUT THIS PHOTO: Dan Shundoff, left, CEO and president of Intellicom, announces the company’s support for UNK with Tim Burkink, middle, dean of the UNK College of Business and Technology, and Pete Kotsiopulos, right, senior director of development.
Students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney who study information networking and telecommunications are benefitting from a partnership forged by Intellicom Computer Consulting of Kearney.
The company is celebrating its 20-year anniversary and service to greater Nebraska by announcing support for UNK’s College of Business and Technology.
Its contributions are valued at $150,000 and involve a multiyear partnership with UNK to provide financial support, donated equipment for teaching laboratories and industry guidance for students.
As part of the collaboration, the company has established the Intellicom Fund for Information Networking and Telecommunications at the University of Nebraska Foundation to enhance UNK’s programs in this area.
“This unique public/private connection will provide significant benefits to students,” said Tim Obermier, chair of the department of industrial technology and professor. “The partnership will assist us with the essential resources to prepare high-quality individuals for excellent careers in the field of designing, building, securing and maintaining information networks.”
Bryan Kuntz, vice president of operations for Intellicom, said the company is thrilled to be using this opportunity to deepen its long-standing relationship with UNK.
“Many of our employees came through UNK’s degree program, and we think the students in the program today are some of the best and brightest,” Kuntz said. “It’s our hope this partnership will enhance these students’ access to experiential learning and that they will graduate even better prepared to enter the workforce and make a contribution.”
Kuntz said the objectives for Intellicom’s partnership are to increase experiential learning opportunities for students, support the ongoing enhancement of lab environments and facilities for students and faculty, and provide additional in-class or adjunct teaching resources with some of the company’s most experienced technical professionals in the state.
Among Intellicom’s initial gifts of equipment, it has provided the university with Cisco Internet Protocol phones as well as Cisco switches for use in student laboratories. UNK has also started to engage Intellicom’s senior engineering staff who talk to students about careers in technology and mentor them on computer virtualization.
The gift from Intellicom supports the University of Nebraska’s current fundraising initiative, the Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities, which ends Dec. 31, and its priority to increase support for students and academic programs at UNK.
To learn more about supporting the UNK College of Business and Technology, contact Pete Kotsiopulos at 800-432-3216.
